Here are a few plants that look to be TOO strange to be from Earth!
10 - Dragon blood tree Have you guys ever seen a bleeding tree?!
That’s basically what the Dracaena cinnabari, or simply the dragon blood tree does.
It’s a dragon tree native to the Socotra archipelago, located in the Arabian Sea.
The dragon blood tree has densely-packed leaves, which makes the tree have the shape of an
upright umbrella.
This tree is given its name because of its dark red resin, which I guess made people
think of "dragon's blood".
This tree usually grows to the height of around 32 feet.
The unusual shape of the dragon's blood tree is an adaptation for survival in dry conditions
with low amounts of soil, such as at the top of mountains.
The large, packed crown provides shade and reduces evaporation.
The shade also helps the survival of seedlings growing beneath the adult tree.
The dark red resin from from the tree was used as a source of varnish for 18th-century
Italian violin-makers.
It was also used as toothpaste back around the same time.
Because of the belief that it actually was the blood of dragons it was also used in ritual
magic and alchemy.
Would it freak you out if you saw this tree and it looked like it was bleeding?!
Let us know in the comments section!
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9 - Hydnora Africana At first glance, this plant looks like something
that belongs in a Super Mario game or something.
Actually, Mario would probably rather fall in hot lava then have to face this plant known
as Hydnora Africana.
Found in southern parts of Africa, this plant plant grows almost entirely underground, except
for a weird looking flower that emerges.
The flower however, completely smells, attracting dung beetles for the plant’s benefit.
The flowers trap the beetles just long enough for them to pick up pollen.
The plant then releases the beetles back out into the world to pollinate other plants.
They even have fruit that grows on them that are a food source for birds, porcupines, and
other animals.
Jackals seem to especially love them, so much so that the plant has been nicknamed “Jackal
Food.”
People have even been known to snack on the fruit.
We just hope it tastes much better than it smells!
8 - Bladderwort The bladderwort plant is a plant that floats
in the water that’s a carnivorous plant with pretty much a foolproof mechanism to
catch prey!
The bladderwort genus contains 220 widely distributed species of plants characterized
by small hollow sacs that capture and eat tiny animals such as insects, worms, and water
fleas.
Bladderwort plants lack roots that go in the ground and just float on the surface of the
water.
They have a horizontal floating stem bearing simple or divided leaves.
Small carnivorous bladders are produced along the stem and can range from dark to transparent
in color.
These bladder traps are recognized as one of the most sophisticated structures in the
plant kingdom.
The traps are hollow underwater structures with a flexible door that’s kept closed.
If a small animal triggers the bristles that stick out from the surface of the door, the
trap suddenly opens, and a quick inflow of water sucks the prey inside within 1/100 of
a second as the internal and external pressures equalize!
The force of the water rushing in is equivalent to around 600G’s!
The door closes again within about 1/35 of a second, and the prey is of course, digested
and eaten!
A physiological process moves water from the inside to the outside of the bladders, generating
a state of low pressure within the traps.
Does anything stand a chance against this plant’s trap?!
7 - Sturt’s Desert Pea The swainsona formosa, also known as Sturt's
Desert Pea, is an Australian plant named after English botanist Isaac Swainson.
Sturt’s desert pea is definitely an unusual looking plant.
Doesn’t this plant just look dangerous?!
The Desert Pea is a slow-growing, creeping plant known for its bizarre, yet sort of attractive
flowers.
The flowers are bright-red with leaf-like petals and purple-black bulbous centers, known
as “the boss”.
The leaves and stems are greenish-grey and are covered with fine hairs.
The fruit is about 2 inches long, and each fruit yields 50 or more flat, kidney-shaped
seeds at maturity.
It’s one of Australia's best-known wildflowers and it’s native to the arid regions of central
and north-western Australia.
Since it’s native to Australia’s woodlands and open plains, the Desert Pea plant is remarkably
resilient and can withstand extreme temperatures.
In particular, the Desert Pea tends to flourish after a rainfall but it also does well in
full sun, along with nutrient-rich, well-drained soils.
6 - Resurrection plant Selaginella lepidophylla, or better known
as the resurrection plant, is a species of desert plant in the spikemoss family.
As the name suggests, the resurrection plant is known for its ability to survive after
being almost completely dried out!
During dry weather in its native habitat, its stems curl into a tight ball and uncurl
only when exposed to moisture and water.
The resurrection plant is native to the Chihuahuan Desert and common names for this plant include
flower of stone, resurrection moss, and dinosaur plant.
Since it can’t accumulate water in the stem and root, it dries out quickly and curls into
a tight ball with a small amount of water stored in the center.
Curled into a ball, the resurrection plant appears to be red, but it’s actually only
dormant.
Its metabolic activities are reduced to a minimum during the period of dormancy that
lasts until the next rain, which can be years!
This plant is sold as a novelty item as a bare root in its dry state.
It can be revived with only a little water.
After watering it, the plant turns green after just a few hours!
5 - White baneberry Actaea pachypoda, which also goes by the names
doll's-eyes and white baneberry, is a species of flowering plant native to North America.
The plant itself looks pretty “normal” – white flowers are produced in the spring
in dense clusters about 3-4 inches long.
However, its most striking feature is its fruit, a white berry whose size, shape, and
black stigma scar give the species its other common name, "doll's eyes".
The berries ripen over the summer, turning into a fruit that remains on the plant until
it’s cold.
If you were thinking of trying to eat the fruit, let’s just forget about it!
Both the berries and the entire plant are considered poisonous to humans.
The berries contain cardiogenic toxins that can have an immediate sedative effect on human
cardiac muscle tissue, and are the most poisonous part of the plant!
Eating of the berries can lead to immediate heart attacks, and we know what else that
can lead to….yeah, a permanent nap.
4 - Elephant foot yam Have any of you guys heard of elephant foot
yam before?
If you have, have you ever tried it?
Elephant foot yam is a tropical tuber grown primarily in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the
tropical Pacific islands.
Because of its production potential and popularity as a vegetable in various foods, it’s often
raised as a cash crop and is mass produced.
The plant is harvested for its corm, tuber, and smooth stalks, all of which are edible
and apparently, have plenty of health benefits.
This plant is given its name because its fruit is quite large and resembles the foot of an
you guessed it…….elephant.
The stems can be three to six feet tall but the corms are the really enormous part of
it, as it can weigh all the way up to a whopping 55 pounds!!
The flower of the elephant foot yam is what gives its unusual look its smell – think
of a skunk on this one.
The flowers are a deep shade of purple and usually grow to be massive, as it’s normally
around 6-10 inches in diameter or even more!
3 - Living stones Lithops are a type of plant that essentially
hides as a rock in order to not get eaten.
These guys are native to southern Africa.
Their name is derived from the Ancient Greek words lithos, meaning "stone” and ops, meaning
"face," both of which of course referring to the stone-like appearance of the plants.
These plants avoid being eaten by blending in with surrounding rocks.
They’re virtually stemless, with the thickened leaves being more or less buried in the soil
with only the tips visible.
Two leaves grow during each rainy season and form a fleshy, roundish structure that’s
a slit across the top.
Flowers grow between the slit, and then a shoot with two leaves grows from the axils
of one or both of the leaves, which then shrivel.
Living stones spread sideways, and one plant may have the appearance of several stones.
The best part about these plants is that if you decide to put these in your house, they
really don’t require much attention, so it’s perfect for those people who’re hardly
home who want a cool plant!
2 - Devil’s Finger Clathrus archeri, also commonly known as octopus
stinkhorn or devil's fingers, is a fungus that can be found all around the world!
Native to Australia and Tasmania, this plant arrived in Europe sometime during World War
I, with wool shipments or military rations.
Well, that’s at least what the fungus experts theorized.
In North America, it was probably unintentionally imported with bamboo.
Anyways, do we need to say that it’s still a weird-looking plant?
This fungus erupts from essentially an egg when it young.
It forms into four to seven long, slick arms that initially stand straight up, and attach
at the top!
The arms then unfold to reveal a pinkish-red inside covered with a dark-olive gleba, which
is what contains the spores.
Once it’s fully grown, of COURSE the plant smells like rotten flesh.
The odor, combined with the plant’s color, is thought to attracts flies that unintentionally
spread the spores and thus the whole cycle begins again.
This fungus is considered inedible, but someone out there has tried it, as the taste is said
to be horrible.
Seriously, who’d think of trying to put this stuff in their mouth?!
The eggs of this fungus are the only parts that’s pleasant to eat as the eggs reportedly
taste and smell like radish.
Experts say that it should only be eaten in extreme survival situations when no other
food is available.
How much money would it take for you guys to taste this plant?!
1 - Beehive ginger The Beehive ginger is a species of true ginger,
native to Southeast Asia.
In the West, it’s mostly grown as an ornamental plant but people in Southeast Asia use it
as a medicinal herb.
Are we sure this thing isn’t just actually a beehive in disguise?!
Okay okay, we know it isn’t.
The leaves of the plant are long and mostly oblong-shaped, tapering to a single point
at their tip.
Under ideal circumstances, the plant can reach a height of 15 feet or even higher!
The plant's inflorescence is set atop a spike and can measure up to 12 inches in height.
The flowers themselves are small, with purple petals and yellow spots, with a fragile, papery
texture.
All parts of the plant have a strong gingery fragrance, which is definitely a nice touch!
In Indonesia, the plant has been used in traditional medicine – the leaves of the plant are ground
into a thick paste that’s then applied on the skin.
Apart from being used as a headache and back pain treatment, the beehive ginger plant can
also be used as a food preservation agent!
Here’s what’s next!