There are thousands of weird flowers found all over the world, many of which appear to take on a different form, looking entirely like something else. Orchids probably take first prize for the weirdest flowers they produce as a species, but we have chosen a wider cross section of flowers, including just a couple of the strangest orchids. After this you’ll never look at a bunch of flowers in the same way ever again.
#10 Angel Trumpet
10 Weird And Truly Terrifying Plants by Richard Everett http://listverse.com
Native to the South American forests, the amazing looking Angel Trumpet (Brugmansia) flower is beautiful, fragrant, and enormously poisonous. It grows on an innocent-looking vine but is the source of three deadly toxins: atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine that is essentially a mind-altering drug. Stories abound about how this gorgeous looking plant has been used by ruthless criminals and drug addicts who use the leaves and flowers of the plant to make a narcotic tea. This flower’s name belies the fact that it can turn ordinary people into zombies.
#9 Monkey Face Orchid
Dracula simia www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca Photo: Eric Hunt, Flickr
A fascinating orchid that has a distinctly monkey-like face, the monkey face orchid (Dracula simia) grows high up in the forests of southeast Ecuador in South America, at more than 1,000 to 2,000 m above sea level. When cultivated in domestic gardens or greenhouses, they need to be kept in an environment that doesn’t get hotter than 27 °C or 80 °F and is nice and humid. Named by an American botanist, Carl A. Luer in 1978, this sweet little epiphytic orchid smells like ripe oranges. Its botanical name Dracula (just look at the fangs) simia (meaning monkey) says it all.
#8 Moon Orchid
Phalaenopsis amabilis Photo: worldoffloweringplants.com
Quite different to most other orchid species, the moon orchid (Phalaenopsis amabilis) has a much shorter stem than other orchids. It also has the largest flower, measuring from seven to ten centimetres, and on average only about five fleshy leaves. One of the whitest flowers of all the orchids, it is endemic to eastern and southeastern Asia (specifically Indonesian and China), and was officially discovered in 1825. It is one of Indonesia’s three national flowers, the others being Rafflesia arnoldii and Jasminum sambac.
#7 Passion Flower
Passion Flower Photo: Kuribo commons.wikimedia.org
The passion flower (Passiflora) grows on a fast growing vine that produces various fruits, depending on the variety. The type of passion fruit that is most commonly eaten is Passiflora edulis, also known as granadilla in some parts of the world, including South Africa. Passiflora incarnata was used as a traditional medicine by native Americans, primarily to treat hysteria, anxiety, insomnia and even seizures. All Passiflora flowers are similar, featuring a corona that looks like the “crown of thorns” said to have been worn by Jesus Christ when he was crucified.
#6 Chamber Maids
Calceolaria uniflora Photo: Gagea commons.wikimedia.org
Chamber maids (Calceolaria uniflora) is a crazy little flower that has some even crazier names including Darwin’s slipper and happy alien. Originating in South America, these weird flowers were first discovered by the famed 19th century geologist and naturalist, Charles Darwin sometime between 1831 and 1836, while charting the coastline of South America. They are still very common in Tierra del Fuego. The little white strip at the front of the “slipper” is what the birds go for, and it is the key to pollination of chamber maids.
#5 Parrot Flower
Parrot Flower Photo: Ekawat Chaowicharat fineartamerica.com
The parrot flower (Impatiens psittacina) is a relatively small (growing only to about 1.5 m) plant that is indigenous to Thailand and Burma, as well as parts of India. It got its name after British botanist, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, one time director of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, London, described the flower in a scientific paper 1901, noting that it looked like a “flying cockatoo.” Like other impatiens species, the parrot flower has thick succulent stems and slightly serrated leaves. This one, however, is a rare plant and now a protected species.
#4 Bird of Paradise
10 Most Unusual Flowers In The World 10mosttoday.com
South Africa’s bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae) gets its name from its uncanny resemblance to the head and beak of a crane. It is one of five indigenous Streliziaceae, and the most beautiful and colorful of the five, boasting bright orange, blue and white blooms. Strangely, it is the official flower of Los Angeles, rather than of any of South Africa’s many cities. Bird of paradise plants are easy to grow in the right conditions and will also thrive indoors providing there is enough warmth and moisture.
#3 Corpse Flower
Giant Fafflesia – the largest flower in the world http://amazingbeautifulworld.com
The largest flower in the world, the corpse flower (Rafflesia arnoldii) is found in the rainforests of Indonesia. It has no leaves, stem or true roots, and is parasitic, absorbing all its nutrients from its host, a type of vine. Apart from its large size, the corpse flower is also extremely heavy, weighing in at up to 10 kg (22 lb). It is known as the corpse flower because of its horrible small that attracts flies and other insects that pollinate it. It is one of Indonesia’s three national flowers.
#2 Devil’s Hand
10 of the World’s Weirdest Flowers by Grace Murano Photo: Josh*m, Flickr
The flower of an evergreen tree from the so-called cloud forests of Central America, Devils Hand (Chiranthodendron pentadactylon) was revered by the Aztecs for the healing qualities of its fruit. The tree, which can grow to a height of 40 ft or 12 m bears its distinctive flowers in late spring to early summer. It is in fact five blood red stamens that look like a clawed hand, and they begin to curl only once the flowers have been successfully pollinated by bats and birds.
#1 Hooker’s Lips
They’re Just So Kissable Looking: Hooker’s Lips Flower geekologie.com
An amazingly unusual and very weird-looking plant, Hooker’s Lips (Psychotria elata) is a flowering tree that grows in the tropical rainforests of South and Central America. It’s a bit of a cheat because the red waxy lips are in fact bracts, which are modified leaves. These, in turn produce little pale-colored star-shaped flowers that emerge from the center of the lips. They are pollinated by insects as well as butterflies and hummingbirds. Hooker’s Lips is threatened by extinction in its native habitat because of deforestation and its popularity with collectors of weird and wonderful plants.
