- Don’t judge a book by its cover or a flower by its looks. Unless it’s the African poop flower.
A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. But what if it looked like a pig snout or something equally weird?
We all learn what your basic, run-off-the-mill flower looks like from a young age. It’s a wide world out there, though, and not all flowers are round little arrangements of petals.
Here are 10 of the strangest flowers out there. But bizarre as they might be, they’re all still very pretty (except one).
1. Bee Orchid
You can probably guess from the name that the bee orchid looks like a bee. As you’ll soon find out, many orchids have weird names, but they’re all very literal.
The bee orchid has assumed its insectile shape to fool randy male bees to fly over and try to mate with the flowers. As they do so, they help the flower procreate while not getting any themselves.
But the flower doesn’t just look like a female bee. It even emits the same scent to entice male bees to try to get some.
2. Monkey Face Orchid
The monkey face orchid’s flower resembles the face of a monkey. Told you it’d get very literal.
When viewed from a certain angle, the flower’s arrangement makes gives it the appearance of a monkey’s eyes, nose, and mouth. With the long, drooping petal, it kind of makes us think of an emperor tamarin.
3. Purple Passionflower
The purple passionflower develops a large flower with an intricate arrangement of petals and other parts. The center of this flower almost resembles a three-dimensional abstract sculpture.
Its English name comes from Jesuit monks who thought the center looked like the crucified Christ. So, they started calling of after Jesus’ Passion, or the events leading to his crucifixion.
Not everybody sees Jesus in the middle, though. In India and Japan, for instance, the passionflower is known as the “clock flower.”
4. Flying Duck Orchid
Here we go again with the orchids. The flying duck orchid, also called the small duck orchid, really makes you think of a flying waterfowl.
However, its duck-like shape is actually a clever trap. Insects land on the duck’s “bill” which bends inward and lodges itself inside the rest of the flower. The bugs then have no options but crawl through a pocket of pollen to get out.
5. Naked Man Orchid
Alright, this is the last orchid we’ll feature. It’s one of the oddest ones, though, since the naked man orchid looks like…
Well, just look at it yourself. The flower is formed of a bunch of tiny, naked guys with their wangs out.
This flower is also called the Italian orchid due to its native habitat. According to Italian folklore, eating the flower will give you the virility of however many men are on it.
6. Dragon Lily
The dragon lily, or vampire lily, looks like a tropical plant. However, this hardy fella actually lives in southeastern Europe.
It can withstand its (relatively) northern home because the flower is capable of warming itself up to 65 degrees, really selling the dragon moniker. It’s cool and looks striking, but unfortunately it stinks of rotten meat to attract pollinating flies.
7. Hanging Lobster Claw
The hanging lobster claw really looks like a bunch of crab claws hanging off a string. It’s quite beautiful, and its unique shape once again serves a pollinating purpose.
The shape of the petals keeps water away from the flower’s nectar, allowing to become a sickeningly sweet concentrate. That’s just what hummingbirds like, and they come over for a tasty meal while the lobster claw gets its pollen transferred.
Win-win.
8. Girlfriend’s Kiss
Talk about hot lips! The girlfriend’s kiss is a South American flower that makes you think the Rolling Stones logo wandered off into the jungle.
Fun fact, the flower is also called labios de puta, or “whore’s lips.” We suppose the name depends on who ended up kissing who.
9. Devil’s Hand
The devil’s hand claws up at the sun in Guatemala and southern Mexico. If idle hands are the devil’s workship, then these hands are very idle indeed.
The flower produces five stamens that make it look like a red hand. As the flower ages, the “fingers” curl inwards, making it look even more sinister.
10. Underground Crap Flower
We told you one of these flowers wouldn’t be pretty. Hydnora Africana has no common English name, but we’re hereby dubbing it the “underground crap flower.”
This parasitic plant grows underground on the roots of certain trees in southern Africa. We really wish it’d stay underground, because what pops out of the soil is revolting.
The underground crap flower produces a fleshy, leathery flower that looks more like a gross mushroom. It splits open, creating a horrible-looking maw.
And then the smell of fresh s*** hits you. The flower reeks of poop to attract flies, carrion beetles, and other delightful creatures to pollinate it.
For more weird plants, check out our article on the 7 most bizarre plants in the world.