Top 20 Most Interesting Plants of the World

Introduction

I had some success with my 10 most famous trees , and so I decided I should do plants too. After all, plants have a reputation for being motionless and boring. These 20 plants challenge the mundane stereotype that plagues their kingdom. (Okay, technically some are fungi, so I cheated a little.) Hope you enjoy!

Number 1: "Corpse Flower"

Not only is it ugly, it smells like a corpse. Luckily only 28 have bloomed in the United States

Wacky because:
It smells strongly like a rotting corpse, and it looks like it belongs in the movie Avatar. I would imagine that the smell helps it not be eaten, but despite this the plant is still very rare. In other words, it's endangered. Coming from the forests of Sumatra, it's not actually one big flower. Its thousands upon thousands of little male and female flowers. These exert oils, while the center collects heat. The heat of the oils create the smell that attracts beetles that will pollinate it. In case you were wondering, a mature one can weigh 200 pounds.

Number 2: Elephant Foot Yam

The famous Amorphophallus

Wacky because:
Guess who this little cute guy is related to? Yep, the corpse flower. Not only are they related, they also share many characteristics. One happens to be that this guy also smells like a corpse. These elephant foot yams vary in color, as well. Some are pure white.
This one might have the edge on the corpse flower in wackiness because it is eaten. In one Southeast Asian culture they are grown as a delicacy, while in another they are known as what we might call a "last resort" to eat.

 

Number 3: Rafflesia Arnoldis

Looks like it could put on a stick and be considered a pinwheel

Wacky because:
Guys, I can't believe it either. But I promise this is the last plant that smells like a corpse. This one is unique in that it is the worlds largest single flower. It is also wacky because it has no stems, leaves, or roots--so it's pretty bad at actually being a plant. It's related to fungi, but according to wikipedia, is a plant. It is also commonly referred to as the corpse flower for the smell.
Want to find one so you can plant it in your backyard? Me too, however these are extremely hard to find. Scientists aren't even sure if they're endangered or not. They live a majority of their lives as teeny tiny little flowers until they explode into that to the right for a few days.

Number 4: Venus Flytrap

Flies, will you ever learn? Do NOT go near the plant with jaws!

Wacky because:
It's carnivorous. Not many plants eat things besides sunlight. Even fewer (as in about four species) are capable of rapid movement. This makes the Venus Flytrap seem like, I don't know, it might be from another planet or something... Anyway, you might wonder how the trap is triggered. Well, they have trigger hairs. These trigger hairs trigger the trap when two are touched within 20 seconds of each other.
Why does it have jaw looking things? Those act like interlocking fingers, or to the insect inside, prison bars. They do their best to restrain the insect from escaping. Healthier Venus Flytraps close quicker on their prey, but scientists are kind of unsure about the mechanism. Then the rest is done with digestive juices.

Number 5: Nepenthes "Tropical Pitcher Plants"

Eats insects, spiders, ...lizards...rats...

Question: What can monkeys drink from, that also has been known to eat rats?
Answer: If there is any other answer but the Nepenthes plants, I want to hear it!
Wacky because:
Monkeys have been spotted drinking from it. Rats have been spotted partially digested in it. And some other stuff too (no, it doesn't smell like a corpse). These plants come in all sorts of varieties and are predominately found in the same regions as the #1,2, and 3 plants that you've already read about. So if you want to see some interesting plants, go to the Sumatra and Borneo forests.
The diet of these things includes just about anything the right size that can fit in them. That means lizards, termites, spiders, worms, etc. can be digested by the Nepenthes. They also have some complex relationships with the ecosystem. Flies and mosquitoes have been known to lay larva on them. Much of their diet comes from feces of the tree shrew species (a mammal), and ants have been known to eat out of it. Sound like I'm making this all up? I'm not.

Number 6: Cape Sundew

An atypical carnivore

Wacky because:
Like I mentioned before, there are more carnivorous plants out there than you probably realized (more than I realized, anyway). The Cape Sundew eats insects not with rapid movements, or weird pitcher shaped appendages, but instead by slowly wrapping its arms (by that I mean "leaves") around prey. This is slow, on average about 30 minutes, and probably fairly cruel.
This is also the first plant on the list that is very good at reproducing. Not only can it reproduce, but it can survive large fluctuations of temperature and water availability as well. So that's why humans like to keep them, because they allow for carelessness when they are being grown. It is originally from South Africa and is invading New Zealand (It's hard to rid a large area of them!).

Number 7: Strangler Fig

Probably the biggest asshole plant on Earth

Wacky because:
The Strangler Fig is the biggest mooch of the plant kingdom. Not only does it mooch, it kills. There are many different species of Strangler Fig, but they all are basically the same thing: that roommate who steals all of your food. Or that guy at a party who steals all of your beer. Or that guy in class that copied your homework and got a better grade. Only he kills you (could be a her, I'm not sure). Anyway, they are dispersed usually by hitch hiking on birds and being dropped on the canopy of trees of a dense forest. They are wacky because they will grow up and down. Down so they can choke the living tree of all the nutrients, and up for sunlight. They often outlive the host tree by years, sometimes forming hollow cores that house the spirit of the old tree.

Number 8: Bear's Head Tooth Mushroom

The creativity of Mother Nature...

Wacky because:
Well just look at it. That's a mushroom. If you're not convinced that it should be on this list... it also fights cancer, stimulates nerve growth, and helps kill roundworms. How do we know? Well some really brave soul found out it was edible. Cydro still wouldn't put it on his sandwiches no matter what it does.
Oh yeah, it can grow branches too. I'm not sure how they came up with the name though. Looks more like a brand new mop to me.

Number 9: Witches' Butter

It must have been a triple dog dare to make the first person eat that.

Sticking with edible fungi that look inedible, here is Witches' Butter. It has been given other pleasant names such as yellow brain and golden jelly fungus.
Wacky because:
Well, I thought it looked funny. It also reproduces by both sexual and asexual production. If you do happen to try to eat it, you'll find that it has no flavor. Witches' butter is currently being studied because of unique biological processes that it undergoes. Some believe that they will prove to have health benefits. It grows on recently fallen and dead trees.

Number 10: Drakaea glyptodon

Basically a wasp sex toy

Wacky because:
Well, it pollinates in a unique way. Does that red thing on the side look like it belongs there? When you look even closer, what's that black thing on top of the red thing? Well, you'll find this appendage on all of the Drakaea glyptodon that you come across.
Female wasps happen to be flightless. They also happen to climb on top of plants to S.O.S. until the male picks them up and does his thing to reproduce with them during flight. The Drakaea glyptodon mimicks the female wasp's body. The male wasp, being a dumb horny guy, will pick up the fake female wasp. Not only does he have to pick it up, but he has to come into contact with another Drakaea glyptodon to actually pollinate the plant. So he has to be fooled twice. Now you know how they came up with which was the male and which was the female.
Also, the plant smells like "raw meat." It kind of looks like it, too.

No. 11: Silver Torch Cactus

Uhem. What are those things?

Wacky because:
Besides having one of the coolest names on the list, it is a very unusual cactus. It's wooly, but that isn't too spectacular. It grows flowers, but that definitely isn't too unusual. The way the flowers are shaped are unique (yes those are flowers), however other cacti flowers bloom in a similar way just not as horizontally.
The thing that makes it the wackiest is that it prefers cold temperatures. It can stand frosts up to -10 degrees Celsius. It lives in the high mountains of Bolivia and Argentina, receiving strong sunlight and water in the summer. Almost no water is received in the winter though.

No. 12: Dragon's Blood Tree

Should be in a dinosaur movie

Wacky because...
Man, I wish I had a name like that. Dragon's blood guy, I can see it now. Also one of the coolest looking trees on the countdown. Thirdly, its sap resembles dragons' blood. That means it's a deep red color, and it was prized among the ancients. It can be used for stimulants and toothpaste of all things. Luckily it survived thousands of years of everyone trying to collect it, which is saying a lot since it is only found on the island of Socotra.
The canopy looks like that because its environment doesn't have much soil. The canopy acts as an umbrella to shade the bottom of the tree. This reduces evaporation. Also, the trees tend to bunch together because the shade helps seedling grow.

13: Tree Tumbo

You wouldn't look much better if you were that old and spent your entire life in the desert

Wacky because...
It is considered a "living fossil" found in the deserts of Namibia and Angola. That's not enough for this countdown though. It is unique in that it has one very short trunk and grows two leaves (only two) from the trunk no matter how mature it is.
Oh yeah, and carbon dating tells us that they're anywhere from 500-2000 years old (and maybe older). So the one pictured to the right will probably be alive when your great-great-great grand kids are alive. That is assuming no apocalypses happen, although I'd bet these guys know how to survive much better than we do.

No. 14: Hydnora Africana

Kind of pretty, maybe?

Wacky because...
This looks like it could be found on a different planet in a sci-fi movie. Then again, what science fiction writer could create such a monster? This grows completely underground except for the flower ("flower") that has such a distinct shape. It is shaped like that in order to maximize the ability for hairs on the "flower" to direct beetles to its unpleasant center.
Why would beetles want to go near that? Well, because it smells like poop. The dung beetle is attracted to it, and many a dung beetle have been trapped in the center. I know what you're thinking. Cydro, will you lay off with the carnivorous plants? Well, it doesn't even eat them. It traps them until the flower is completely mature. The flower then releases all the beetles with so much pollinating and reproduction potential. The male and female Hydnoras have different receptors for this pollination, so the beetles have to come across another Hydnora for it to work.

15: Wolffia Anguste

Eeny weeny, aren't they?

Wacky because:
Wow they're small! In fact, they're the world's smallest flowering plant! How small are they? Well...
Step 1) FInd an "o" on this page
Step 2) Imagine two specks inside that "o". Two adult Wolffias could fit inside of that o! Also, if you looked back in 30-36 hours, there might be four of them! They reproduce really fast. One more thing: they don't even have leaves or stems.
So they're being discovered just about everywhere now that scientists know what they exactly are. If you've been to a pond or a river there's a decent chance you've encountered them.

No. 16: Lithops Julli

That's a plant?

Wacky because...
Some plants use toxins to avoid being eaten. Some use thorns, or turn into carnivores. The Lithops Julli survives by pretending to be a rock. If you're into picking up rocks in South Africa, chances are you'll pick one of these up, too.
The disguise seems useless because they're flowering plants. Nope, even the flowers are disguised with abstract lines and colors. The colors of everything about the plant are atypical for this very reason.

17: Victoria Amazonica

Who put that baby there!?!?

Wacky because...
These guys have some pretty amazing features. And they grow up to three meters across! The ends fold up to avoid overlapping with their brethren. Also, the undersides are very thorny to protects against being eaten. Their flowers are huge, beautiful, and can only be seen at night. The flowers also change color over the course of the lily's lifetime. If you see them at daybreak you can watch the flowers close up rather quickly.
Lastly, if you google image them, you're likely to find a baby pictured on top of them. Apparently people have a fascination with this. Mature lilies can support up to 45 kg on them.

No. 18: Dracunculus Vulgaris

I wish I had a garden with all of the plants on this countdown

Wacky because:
Okay, so I promised to not mention any more plants that smell like a corpse. This one only does it for a day, and it has been described as more of a rotting smell, so does that count? Anyway, it smells to attract flies which in turn pollinate it. This one is peculiar because it is found in Europe, not Southeast Asia.
It is severely poisonous as well. So look, don't touch!

19: African Acacia

Looking innocent is the only thing it does better than killing herbivores

Wacky because...
That tree looks normal. I think I saw it on The Lion King. Well, it is from the African savannah. It is also a mass murderer.
"Van Hoven made his discovery when asked to investigate the sudden death of some 3000 South African antelope, called kudu, on game ranches in the Transvaal. He noticed that giraffe, roaming freely, browsed only on one acacia tree in ten, avoiding those trees which were downwind."
The tree, when it is being eaten, gives off ethylene which can be detected by other Acacia trees up to 50 yards downwind. Those trees in turn produce enough toxin to kill an animal, say a kudu. That means the first bite of these trees, rather than making the kudu sick and stop eating, kills it.
Oh, and they have an army of ant bodyguards. The trees provide housing and nectar for the ant, and the biting ants attack whatever comes near the tree. The plant does need herbivores to help spread its young, however, so thus there is one of the most complicated three-way relationships in history.

Last but not least... The Bladderwort

Wacky because...
This one is one of the wackiest. It is found in many different varieties around the southeastern coast of the United States and then also in the state of Washington. What makes it so unique? Well, it uses little air sacs to float when it is flowering. When it isn't flowering, it stays underwater like a seasonal submarine. Also, it is a carnivore. It eats tiny little invertebrates that it sucks into its pods with a vacuum. Beat that, Venus Flytrap.Tiny fish have also been known to trigger the trap.
Also, it is really good at surviving just about anywhere (unlike most carnivorous plants). In some places in the United States they have been a problem and humans are trying to get rid of them.
What happens when one floats into the bank of a pond? Well, it will attach itself to the side by extending little needle-like stems. Who knew a plant could resemble a Swiss Army Knife so much?

Bonus for reading this far: World's largest and oldest plants

Oldest:
How old is the King's holly?
Take a deep breath and guess.
400 years?
higher...
4,000 years
higher...
40,000 years?!
At least 43,600 actually. It doesn't even have a male or female part, or pollinate. It survives by dropping its cloned branches on the ground until they grow. So scientists counted its birthday candles to determine its true age^{[citation needed]}. They also carbon dated a nearby fossil of the same plant, and that was 43,600 years old.
Here is a great, great article on all the oldest trees of the world.


Largest single stem tree:
The General Sherman tree, or a Giant Sequoia. 275 feet tall (about a football field), weighing about 1,800 tons (3,600,000 pounds), and large enough to drive a school bus through the trunk. It was much smaller than the largest ever recorded tree that fell over in 1905. That tree was a Coast Redwood that weighed 3,300 tons. Wow! These trees, of course, have no natural predators.

15 Eccentric Endangered Trees, Plants, and Flowers

(Part of an Exclusive WebEcoist Series on Amazing Trees, Plants, Forests and Flowers)

Did you know that there is a species of tree so rare that only two are known to exist on earth; there are also strange meat-eating flowers and flowers that simply smell like meat. What they and other unusual plants have in common is both rarity and uniqueness – they are incredible but also endangered. If you enjoyed learning about some of the world’s most beautiful endangered forests and the ultimate list of strange endangered animals, don’t miss the following list of unique endangered plants and trees.

Strange Endangered Trees

We live in a time some experts are calling the “last great land grab“. In order to sustain the rapidly growing population of the world in the coming years, millions of acres of forest will need to be converted to other uses – unless we come up with smarter solutions. With global warming on the rise, forests are more valuable than ever as vital carbon sinks. The twin threats of global warming and deforestation threatens many geographically distinct and ecologically important trees. Here are just a few.

Baobob Tree

Native to equatorial Africa and India, and most famous for covering much of Madagascar, the distinctive baobob tree is increasingly threatened. This tree is leafless nine months of the year and stores water in its trunk much like a camel. People make homes in the base, and the tree also produces an edible fruit called the monkeyfruit.

Monkey Puzzle Tree

This unusual evergreen tree, native to the threatened forests of Chile, is so ancient it is considered a living fossil. It has triangular, spiky, sharp leaves and bears large cones. It is considered the national tree of Chile. Due to its memorable, tail-like appearance, the monkey puzzle tree is popularly cultivated in yards around the world.

Dragon Tree

The dragon tree pictured above is over 2,000 years old. The dragon tree genus contains 40 different species, many of which are popularly cultivated. Some are quite small, but the most famous are the large dragon tree pictured. They are native to Africa, though a few species are found elsewhere.

Bois Dentelle

This beautiful, delicate tree is exceedingly rare: there are only two bois dentelle trees that remain in existence. The pair is located in the cloud forest of Mauritius. Though it has no commercial value, it is near extinction because the cloud forest habitat has been severely damaged by alien invasive species. The bois dentelle produces beautiful sprays of delicate hanging white flowers.

Cork

The cork is actually a type of oak. From this article on endangered forests: “The odd and distinctive cork bark forest of the Mediterranean is a case where industry actually preserves this unique biome. In fact, the advent of the screw-top wine stopper is the cork bark forest’s greatest threat. … Experts say we will lose cork forests in the next decade if the wine industry continues to turn to alternative corks. Cork oaks are really fascinating; they can be ‘shorn’, much like sheep, for many years with proper maintenance. Without market incentive, though, these forests may fall into disrepair or be cleared all together.”

Bizarre Endangered Plants

With the prevalent deforestation of the planet’s woodlands, many fascinating and rare plant species are being destroyed before scientists have the ability to determine if there is, for example, important medicinal value. According to the Encyclopedia of Earth, over 8,000 plant species worldwide are officially threatened or endangered. Between one-fourth and one-half of all plants are at some risk. The combination of global warming and habitat destruction is formidable. Though there are thousands of interesting, diverse and unusual plants, here are a few particularly odd species that need protection. Especially when you consider that our planet may be the only one where plants are green!

Venus Fly Trap

It seems like everyone did a report on this insect-eating mini monster back in grade school. The carnivorous venus fly trap may be famous, but it’s also threatened. The plant’s two hinged leaves are covered in ultra sensitive fine hairs that detect the presence of everything from ants to arachnids. Trigger the hairs and snap! Lunch for the Venus Fly Trap.

Baseball Plant

This incredibly popular house plant is virtually extinct in the wild due to habitat destruction and the botanical equivalent of poaching. Its sap is poisonous, but it does make an attractive yard ornament. Unfortunately humans have not balanced their desire to grow the baseball plant in their gardens with the need to preserve natural populations of the plant.

Green Pitcher Plant

Another carnivorous plant, the unique green pitcher plant is endangered. Actually an herb, this insect-eating plant is native to Georgia, South Carolina and other parts of the southern United States, but due to land development its habitat is threatened and the pitcher plant may be lost if protection is not put in place. They are known to grow in stands, almost like little tree groves. There are actually several types of pitcher plants, some brilliantly colored and reminiscent of.

Welwitschia Mirabilis

This odd plant stumped taxonomists for years. A desert plant found in South Africa, the thick welwitschia mirabilis generally possesses only two leaves, but these leaves curl and tangle as the plant grows (it often lives over 1,000 years) and becomes a jumbled, tough mass spanning 6 feet or more.

Snowdonia Hawkweed

It’s not the strangest looking plant on earth, but the snowdonia hawkweed does have the honor of being the rarest. It grows only in the Welsh valley of Snowdonia, and in seven small patches, at that. It was thought to be completely extinct by the 1950s until it was again spotted in 2002.

Funky Endangered Flowers

Technically, of course, flowers are not separate from trees or plants but are simply the blooms – the reproductive (seed-containing) fruit’s come-and-pollinate-me display. But some flowers are so noteworthy for their looks and special characteristics that they are included in this post.

Rafflesia

Winning no awards as an anniversary bouquet, this remarkable – or remarkably ugly – flower nevertheless captivates plenty of folks. The rafflesia is a parasitic plant with a flesh-like bloom the size of an armchair and a stench that’s unmissable if you’re even remotely close. The smell is so bad, in fact, that it’s often called the corpse flower or meat flower. (The Titan Arum, another stinky flower, is also called the corpse flower, but these two plants should not be confused.)

Titan Arum

The titan arum or amorphophallus titanum (basically, titanic penis) is not the world’s biggest flower, but it does have the world’s biggest inflorescence. Like the rafflesia, it also grows in Sumatra and also is called the corpse flower after its notoriously rotten stench.

Tacca Chantrieri

The black bat flower, or tacca chantrieri, is exceptionally rare and quite beautiful. The flowers can reach over 12″ in diameter and each bloom typically has many “whiskers” that can grow to two feet or more in length.

Dendroseris Neriifolia

The dendroseris neriifolia flower is special simply because there is only one plant left in the wild. Originally native to Chile, a single plant was found on Robinson Crusoe Island, home to dozens of rare, geographically unique species on the verge of disappearance.

Green Jade Flower

The rare and beautiful green jade flower is distinct for its blue-green petals and navy-purple center. It looks like a fuschia plant on an acid trip.

10 Most Famous Trees in the World

By Sahil Jasrotia

Famous trees come and go. L’Arbre du Ténéré was once considered the most isolated tree on Earth, a landmark on caravan routes in the Sahara, until it was knocked down by a drunk Libyan truck driver in 1973. This year in August, the famous Anne Frank tree in Amsterdam was blown down by high winds during a storm. Luckily, there are still many special trees out there. An overview of the most famous trees in the world.

10 Arbol del Tule

Árbol del Tule, a Montezuma Cypress, is located in the town center of Santa María del Tule in the Mexican state of Oaxaca . It has the stoutest trunk of any tree in the world although the trunk is heavily buttressed, giving a higher diameter reading than q true cross-sectional of the trunk. It is so large that it was originally thought to be multiple trees, but DNA tests have proven that it is only one tree. The tree is estimated to be between 1,200 and 3,000 years old.

9 Cotton Tree

The Cotton Tree is an historic symbol of Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone. According to legend, the Cotton Tree became an important symbol in 1792 when a group of former African American slaves, who had gained their freedom by fighting for the British during the American War of Independence, settled the site of modern Freetown. They landed on the shoreline and walked up to a giant tree just above the bay and held a thanksgiving service there to thank God for their deliverance to a free land.

8 Boab Prison Tree

The Boab Prison Tree is a large hollow tree just south of Derby in Western Australia. It is reputed to have been used in the 1890s as a lockup for Indigenous Australian prisoners on their way to Derby for sentencing. In recent years a fence was erected around the tree to protect it from vandalism.

7 Major Oak

The Major Oak is a huge oak tree in the heart of Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, England. According to local folklore, it was Robin Hood’s shelter where he and his band of outlaws slept. The famous tree is about 800 to a 1000 years old. In 1790, Major Hayman Rooke, a noted antiquarian, included the tree in his popular book about the ancient oaks of Sherwood. It thus became known as The Major‘s Oak.

6 Lone Cypress

The Lone Cypress Tree near Monterey is probably the most famous point along the 17-Mile Drive, a scenic road through Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach. The road winds through miles of breathtaking coastal views of the Pacific, with turnouts along the way at the most historical and picturesque sites. The Monterey Cypress is a species of cypress that is endemic to the Central Coast of California. In the wild, the species is confined to two small populations, near Monterey and Carmel.

5 Tree of Life

The Tree of Life in Bahrain is a mesquite tree which grows in the middle of desert. The tree is said to be 400 to 500 years old. Its long roots probably have found some underground water source, but it is still a miracle as it is the only green living organism living in a vast and barren desert. The local inhabitants believe that this was the actual location of the Garden of Eden.

4 Socotra Dragon Trees

The Dragon blood tree is arguably the most famous and distinctive plant of the island of Socotra. It has a unique and strange appearance, having the shape of an upside-down umbrella. This evergreen species is named after its dark red resin, that is known as “dragon’s blood”. The bizarre shape enables the tree to have optimal survival in arid conditions. The huge packed crown provides sufficient shade in order to reduce evaporation.

3 General Sherman

General Sherman is a Giant Sequoia located in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in California. The famous trees of the Giant Forest are among the largest trees in the world. In fact, if measured by volume, five of the ten largest trees on the planet are located within this forest. At 11.1 meter (36.5 ft) along the base he General Sherman tree is the largest of them all. The tree is believed to be between 2,300 and 2,700 years old.

2 Cedars of God

The Cedars of God is a small forest of about 400 Lebanon Cedar trees in the mountains of northern Lebanon. They are among the last survivors of the extensive forests of the Cedars of Lebanon that thrived in this region in ancient times. The Cedars of Lebanon are mentioned in the Bible over 70 times. The ancient Egyptians used its resin in mummification and King Solomon used the famous trees in the construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem.

1 Avenue of the Baobabs

The Avenue of the Baobabs is a group of famous trees lining the dirt road between Morondava and Belon’i Tsiribihina in western Madagascar. Its striking landscape draws travelers from around the world, making it one of the most visited tourist attractions in Madagascar. The Baobab trees, up to 800 years old, did not originally tower in isolation over the sere landscape of scrub but stood in dense tropical forest. Over the years, as the country’s population grew, the forests were cleared for agriculture, leaving only the famous baobab trees.