TAMPA BAY, FL -- Long before human beings interjected their own brand of weirdness into the world, Mother Nature was already in high gear. Many of the oddities she’s cranked out over the eons are prehistoric and long gone.
But there's still plenty for us to look at with amazement and wonder.
Here are seven of the strangest plants in the world:
Rafflesia arnoldiiFound in the rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo, the Rafflesia arnoldii produces the largest individual flower on earth.
The flower can grow up to three feet across and weigh up to 24 pounds.
It's a parasitic plant that attaches itself to a host plant and feeds off of it for nutrients and water.
And boy, does it smell. Rafflesia arnoldii emits an odor similar to rotting meat to attract insects for pollination purposes.
This plant is rare and hard to find. The flower takes months to develop and only last a few days when in full bloom.
Titan ArumHere's another real stinker.
Also found in
Indonesia, the titan arum is known as the "corpse flower" for its awful smell of rotting meat.
The titan arum can grow up to 10 feet in circumference, reach heights of 7 to 12 feet and weigh up to 170 pounds.
Unlike the equally bad-smelling rafflesia arnoldii, the titan arum is not a single flower, technically speaking. It is formed by a cluster of much smaller flowers, called an
inflorescence.
