Part of the allure of flowers is not just their pleasing shape and vivid colours (like the ones in our featured image, above, by aussiegall), but the aromas that they give off. It’s why billions of pounds are spent on developing and purchasing perfumes and aftershaves – we like flowers so much, we want to smell like them.
Before we go into the terrifying psychology of this body dysmorphia, let’s instead take a look at some of the least appealing and most nauseatingly pungent flowers out there and find out where you can sniff them.
Titan Arum & Rafflesia – South East Asia
The indigenous Indonesian plant called the Titan Arum is also known as the “carrion flower” because it absolutely reeks of rotting flesh. It’s also massive, like something out of Little Shop of Horrors. If you’d like to smell it in the wild, head to the rainforests of western Sumatra.
Another flower wearing eau de corpse is Rafflesia, a mutant aberration of a traditional-looking flower that splays its many varieties languorously around Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, making all the locals hold their noses
Gingko – China
It may be more famous for its remedial properties, but the gingko plant is also notorious for smelling like rotten eggs with a dash of vomit during certain parts of the year.
Although indigenous to China, it’s been commonly cultivated all over the world over the past century or so – for example, you’ll find many people in cities all over the USA complaining about the stench.
They are, in fact, so adaptable and resilient that six gingko trees were the only living things to survive the blast radius from the Hiroshima atomic bomb in Japan.
Dead horse arum lily – Corsica
The worrying name of this beast should be enough to let you know what you’re in for when you come close to one on the Mediterranean island of Corsica.
In an attempt to attract blowflies, the dead horse arum lily can actually increase its own temperature to intensify the aroma.
Don’t fret – the rest of Corsica smells lovely.
