10 Strangest Plants on Planet Earth - World's Largest Flower
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00 4 Evergreen presents 10 of the world's strangest plants.
00:08 The Venus Flytrap.
00:10 The Venus Flytrap is the most famous of all carnivorous plants due to the active and efficient
00:16 nature of its unique traps.
00:18 It may be famous, but it's also threatened.
00:21 The plant's two hinged leaves are covered in ultra-sensitive fine hairs that detect
00:26 the presence of everything from ants to arachnids, triggers the hairs and snap!
00:32 The trap will shut in less than a second.
00:37 The Dancing Plant.
00:39 Darwin called this plant Hadeserum, but it is also known as the Dancing Grass or Telegraph
00:45 Plant, typically found in many tropical countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, China,
00:52 and Sri Lanka.
00:54 The most important thing about this is that it moves when stimulated by sound.
00:58 It is suggested that the reaction to sound could occur to mimic butterfly movement or
01:04 general winged anthropod mimicry to attract other species.
01:08 The leaflets of the Dancing Plant visibly move in an elliptical fashion when exposed
01:13 to high-frequency sound waves.
01:15 This movement can last for up to 3 to 5 minutes.
01:25 The Dragonblood Tree.
01:27 There are many beautiful, interesting and strange plants that exist on our planet.
01:32 One very unusual species among these is the Dragonblood Tree from Socotra Island.
01:38 This tree not only has a very distinctive appearance, but also releases a red resin
01:44 that is known as dragon's blood.
01:47 According to locals, the first Dragonblood Tree was created from the blood of a dragon
01:52 that was wounded when it fought an elephant.
01:55 Like the unfortunate dragon, the tree secretes its resin when it is injured.
01:59 In ancient times, the resin was believed to have magical and medicinal properties.
02:05 People used it as a pigment for art, a dye, and a medicine.
02:10 Dragon's blood is still used for these purposes today.
02:15 The Corpse Plant.
02:16 A flower taller than a man, stinking strongly of putrefying roadkill and colored deep burgundy
02:23 to mimic rotting flesh.
02:25 Sounds like something from a low-budget science fiction movie.
02:28 But Indonesia's Titan Arum or "corpse flower" as known by locals is a real phenomenon, pollinated
02:35 in the wild by carrion-seeking insects.
02:39 This Indonesian plant has the world's biggest inflorescence.
02:43 Due to its fragrance, which is reminiscent of the smell of a decomposing mammal, the
02:47 Titan Arum is also known as a carrion flower, the corpse flower, or corpse plant.
02:58 The Bottle Tree.
03:00 Bayobab is the common name for a genus containing eight species of trees, native to Madagascar,
03:07 mainland Africa, and Australia.
03:10 Also known as the bottle tree, not only do they look like bottles, but the trees typically
03:14 store around 300 liters of water.
03:18 No wonder why they often live over 500 years.
03:24 The Shy Plant.
03:27 Mimosa pudica or the sensitive plant, has a curiosity value.
03:32 The compound leaves fold inward and droop when touched or shaken, reopening within minutes.
03:39 The species is native to South America and Central America, but is now a pantropical
03:44 weed.
03:45 Who would know that plants have feelings too?
03:52 The Most Resistant Plant.
03:54 It's not pretty to look at, but Namibia's plant, Welwistia mirabilis, can truly claim
04:00 to be one of a kind.
04:02 Most important thing of this plant is that their estimated lifespan is 400 to 1500 years.
04:09 This plant consists of only two leaves and a sturdy stem with roots.
04:14 That's all.
04:15 Two leaves continue to grow until they resemble the odd mane of some science fiction alien.
04:21 It can even survive up to five years without any water.
04:25 The plant is said to be very tasty either raw or baked in hot ashes, and this is how
04:30 it got its other name, "anyanga," which means "onion" of the dessert.
04:36 The Resurrection Plant.
04:38 Also known as Rose of Jericho, the Seligonella lepidophila is a species of desert plant noted
04:45 for its ability to survive almost complete desiccation.
04:52 During dry weather in its native habitat, its stems curl into a tight ball and uncurl
04:58 when exposed to moisture.
05:03 World's Largest Flower.
05:05 There is one exotic and rare plant you wouldn't likely want to grow anywhere near your landscape
05:10 no matter how famous it would make you for doing so.
05:14 That would be growing the largest flower in the world.
05:18 This exotic, very rare, speckled, though not particularly pretty, rust-colored flower is
05:24 called Raffaellessa arnaldi, which is the biggest individually produced flower in the
05:30 world.
05:31 It gets to be three feet across and weighing a whopping 15 to 24 pounds.
05:41 That's pretty darn big, but still you would not like this flower in your perennial bed.
05:46 Why is that?
05:48 If you could mimic a rainforest-type environment for this plant, it gives off a most offensive
05:53 odor when in bloom.
05:55 This scent is somewhat like rotting meat.
05:57 This is why it is often called the corpse plant by some natives of Indonesia where it
06:03 originates.
06:04 Its blossoms only last three to five days, but in those few days, it needs a miracle
06:09 for survival.
06:10 This hideous smell it produces attracts pollinating insects to it to help perpetuate the species,
06:16 but even when this happens, only 10 to 20% of the tiny seedlings make it.
06:23 The baseball plant, Euphorbia obesa, also known as the baseball plant, is endemic to
06:30 the Great Karoo region of South Africa, which means it cannot be found anywhere else.
06:36 Baseball plant is named after the shape of the stem and brown tubercles on the ribs that
06:41 altogether create impression of a ball that is used for baseball.
06:46 Unsustainable harvesting by plant collectors who value Euphorbia obesa for its interesting
06:51 and curious appearance has severely impacted its wild populations.
06:56 While Euphorbia obesa remains endangered in its native habitat, it has become very common
07:01 in cultivation.
07:03 By growing large numbers of Euphorbia obesa, nurseries and botanical gardens have been
07:07 working to ensure that specimens being traded and sold among plant collectors are not obtained
07:14 from the wild.
07:24 [Music]
07:27 (upbeat music)
07:29 (upbeat music)