EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT CARRION (CORPSE) FLOWERS.

When we talk about flowers, what is the first thing that appears in your mind? Probably vibrant colors, nectar, and fragrance, bees and butterflies hovering over the flowers isn’t. Well, that is not always the case, as not all flowers have an appealing fragrance. Carrion flowers or corpse or stinking flowers emit an odor similar to rotting flesh. So why do these flowers stink? These produce stinking smell to attract carrion beetles and different flies as pollinators, probably looking for a prime location to lay their eggs and therefore mostly females visit such plants. The petals of these carrion flowers are typically fleshed-colored and have a dense covering of hairs (like the skin of a mammal).

 Most of the carrion flowers, unlike insect-pollinated flowers, do not reward its pollinators by juicy nectar, though some of them produce nectar. Carrion flowers are most common in plant families like Apocynaceae, Orchidaceae, Araceae, and Aristolochiaceae. The carrion flowers emit oligosulfides (dimethyl mono-, di- and trisulfides) responsible for the characteristic odor of rotten flesh. These oligosulfides result from protein degradation, particularly the result of sulfur-containing amino acids like methionine and cysteine. The antennae of these carrion flies and beetles respond to dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl trisulfide. Below includes a list of five plants known as carrion flowers:

1. Amorphophallus titanum (titan arum)

This plant produces the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world up to 3 m tall, It does not bloom annually, in cultivation it blooms after 7-10 years. The flower opens for only 48 hrs and when it blooms it produces heat  (32℃) to spread smell and attract pollinators. It is native to tropical rainforests of Sumatra and Indonesia.

2.Rafflesia arnoldi

It is the single largest flower about 3 ft across, found in the rainforests of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. It is a parasitic plant and doesn’t have visible roots, stems, and leaves.  It is commonly known as corpse lily and considered rarest because of its large gigantic petals. The bloom is hollow at the center, white and red-spotted with five petals. It grows inside its host Tetrasigma vine of grape family and thus lives inside the woody stems and roots of its host. It becomes only visible when its bud emerges out of the bark and develops into a flower. Sir Raffles was the one who first discovered it in Sumatra, along with his friend Dr. Joseph Arnold, after whom R. arnoldii is named. 

3.Stapelia gigantea (Zulu giant)

These are low perennial succulents that belong to the milkweed family and are a native of dry desert areas like Tanzania and South Africa. Its flowers are hairy to imitate the appearance of a small dead animal, star-shaped and generate odor of rotten flesh. Its flowers can reach up to 16 inches in diameter when in bloom.  Thus, its hairs, coloration, and surface mimic decaying organic matter and its smell attracts pollinators that collect pollen before they fly away.

 4.Smilax herbaceae

Smilax from Greek meaning “rasping” regarding thorns and herbaceae from Latin refers to a herb (non-woody). It belongs to the catbrier family, is a climber with simple alternate leaves. We commonly know it as Jacob’s-ladder or smooth carrion flower. The plant reaches a height of about 2.1m and is Native of North America. The plant bears green to yellowish flowers in spring. The flowers are carrion scented to attract flies, which are the main pollinators. The shiny carrion flies often hang out near the flowers to find a place to lay their eggs. We can eat its growing tips and unfolding leaves raw as a salad. 

5.Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis

 It is a species of orchid that is a monstrous plant from lowland Papua New Guinea. We well know it is well for its stinky flowers and long leaves. It gets its name because of its foliage, similar to Phalaenopsis, not flowers. The plant bears a hairy, pinkish-red flower that smells like dead mice and its petals resemble decaying flesh.

So why are carrion flowers like titan arum so huge? It is so as during night time the cool air forms beneath the tree canopy and this prevents the plants smell to rise. Thus, they grow tall and shoots hot steam, helping the scent to rise above the crown of trees to attract the pollinators. This is however energetically expensive for the plant, and thus it blooms for only two nights.