Amorphophallus titanum is a colossal Indonesian plant that blooms only once every decade and specifically emits the overwhelming stench of rotting flesh to attract carnivorous flies for pollination.

A closer look

Amorphophallus titanum is a colossal Indonesian plant that blooms only once every decade and specifically emits the overwhelming stench of rotting flesh to attract carnivorous flies for pollination. Towering up to ten feet tall, this botanical monstrosity actually heats itself up to human body temperature during its brief blooming phase, perfectly simulating the thermal signature of a decaying mammal to trick desperate insects into doing its reproductive bidding. After spending ten long years gathering energy in a giant underground tuber, it unleashes a twenty-four-hour olfactory assault of sweaty socks, dead fish, and chemical sewage before promptly collapsing in on itself. It is the ultimate attention-seeking diva of the plant kingdom, proving that being intensely ugly and smelling like a tragic crime scene is a perfectly valid evolutionary tactic if you only have to do it once a decade