It's good to live in Russia - there are only cornflowers and buttercups in the meadows. The worst thing that can be found is fly agaric and nettles. And in tropical forests such gloomy plants can grow that you will not know where to run from …
1. Bloody Tooth / Hydnellum peckii
This cute fungus is like chewing gum, oozing blood and smelling like strawberries. But do not try to eat it, for it will be the last "delicacy" that you will taste in your life.
The fungus has been known to mankind since 1812 and is considered inedible, i.e. Once upon a time, in dark, pre-dark times, there lived a genius who sacrificed his life for the glory of science in order to warn the descendants from eating this "delicacy".
In addition to its outstanding external qualities, this abomination has antibacterial properties and contains blood thinning chemicals. But what can I say, soon this mushroom may become a replacement for penicillin (which, by the way, was derived from a fungus of the species Penicillium notatum).
Promotional video:
If you do not have enough thrills, and you intend to immortalize your name in the annals of history by all means (the Darwin Prize and the title of the stupidest suicide on planet Earth you already have in your pocket), then just lick this miracle of nature …
Other names: strawberries and cream, the red-juice tooth, devil's tooth, bleeding tooth fungus.
2. Doll's Eye
At best, this "beauty" looks like an alien weed, and at worst, like a totem dug into the ground with human eyes planted on it, with which the serial killer marked the burial place of all his 666 victims.
This unusual plant is called "doll eyes". There is also a less telling name for this creep - the white raven.
This plant does not possess any features, except for its appearance, you can even taste it, then tell about your feelings.
3. Sea Anemone Mushroom and Octopus Stinkhorn
Sometimes, contemplating such creations, you begin to think about the sanity of the creator. Of course, there are times when disgusting things turn out to be quite pleasant to the taste, smell … but this is not the case: the mushroom, called the "stinking octopus horn", not only looks disgusting, but also stinks, so that cannot be described words.
Side-by-side with him on the territory of Australia grows and his brother in the stench - the sea anemone mushroom, fragrant with corpse.
In principle, these fungi are not poisonous, but you can hardly taste them, because they give off such an aroma that when you try to stuff them into your mouth, you will most likely simply lose consciousness.
Both mushrooms are cunning creatures and in order not to end their mortal existence on the sole of the boot of a compassionate Australian, at first they pretend to be unremarkable whitish toadstools.
After a while, these sly ones begin to blossom. The process of turning into a terrible monster takes place in just a couple of months: during this period, the mushroom cap is divided into 4-5 parts, forming a kind of petals.
The stench is not only a defense mechanism against gourmets who want to taste new tastes, but also a bait for flies, which are the main carriers of these fungi spores.
Other names for the sea anemone: aseroe rubra, starfish fungus.
Other names for the "stinking octopus horn": Clathrus archeri.
4. Devil's Claw
The "Devil's Claw" is something like the thorns of our burr, which, being launched by the mark of the hand of your best friend, more than once tangled in your hair.
The main difference between these two adhesives lies in their appearance: if the thorns of the burr are small cute lumps that just ask for hands, then the devil's claw looks more like an evil man-eating spider, which is just waiting to cling to your throat.
Once these demonic gizmos were "found" only in Arizona, where native Americans (Indians) wove horrible-looking baskets from them and laid out whole "minefields" with them, which the enemies preferred to avoid.
Today, "demonic claws" have already completely occupied the entire Northwest of the United States. I feel that soon this abomination will reach Mother Russia, so if you do not want to fall victim to the “devil's claw”, then start stocking up on Roundup and build barricades right now.
Other names: Devil's Claw / Devil's Claw.
5. Chinese Black Batflowers
All the same, Batman did not accidentally choose the bat as a symbol of intimidation of the criminal population of Gotham. For these creatures of darkness are terrible: small evil eyes, thin legs with huge hooked nails, sharp teeth, a plump body, unevenly covered with hair, and huge wings - what is not a description of a terrible monster from another low-budget, but from this no less terrible, horror film?
And if you are one of those who consider them cute little animals eating fruit, then you will surely change your mind when one of these creatures grabs your face and sucks up all your blood … but, unfortunately, it will be too late for you …
Of course, all of the above is a joke and there are only a few species of blood-eating bats in the world that attack only animals in their weight category, but you must admit that it is simply impossible to look at a rat flying through the sky without a shudder in your heart.
Mother Nature has done a great job in trying to create the most creepy and at the same time disgusting plant, endowing it with all the hallmarks of a bat and adding a bunch of cord-like tentacles for fidelity. This creature of children's nightmares is called the Chinese mouse flower.
The flower is grown exclusively as an ornamental plant by courageous gardeners who literally cultivate nightmares, fertilized by human pain, fear and despair.
In fact, these people either have steel eggs, or the complete absence of them, for no normal person can endure being in his garden plot of plants that look like they just left the picture of a mentally ill artist who tried to draw a vase, and use human heads as incubators for rearing their larvae.
6. Buddha's Hand
I do not know what crazy genius decided that this thing looks like a Buddha's hand, for me it is more like hentai tentacles that are about to grip another busty beauty.
In fact, the nasty tentacles turn out to be quite an edible, one might even say delicious, citrus fruit that is incredibly popular in China and Japan.
If you remember the chain of sorting-like restaurants, it is not difficult to understand why the Chinese are crazy about eating this curiosity, but I did not expect this from the prim Japanese.
In fact, the hand of Buddha is a strange kind of lemon, which often contains nothing but the peel.
Fructin attracts oriental peoples not only with its unusual appearance, but also with its aromatic properties: in Japan, tea is made from it, and in China it is kept at home as a talisman that brings good luck, happiness in the house, drives away all evil spirits and bestows longevity. These lemon tentacles are also used to make jam, marmalade and perfume that smells of violets.
And a little about the serious: it is traditionally believed that Buddha can cunningly wrap, twist and turn his fingers during prayer, and at such moments his hands are very similar to these monster-shaped lemon.
As you wish, but if this is really so, then if I had the opportunity to meet Buddha or good-natured Freddy Krueger in a dark alleyway, I would most likely choose the latter.
Other names: Citron, zedrat, Corsican lemon, Buddha's brush.
7. Venus Flycatcher / Dionaea muscipula
I dare to suggest that even a couple of million years ago, these monsters devoured dinosaurs and were the full masters of the planet.
But evolution is the enemy of maximalism, and all giants have either died out or in order to survive acquired more earthly dimensions, so today the flycatcher is a small plant that feeds exclusively on insects, caterpillars, slugs and frogs.
How it works: There are many tiny, sensitive hairs inside the leafy mouth. A victim crawling onto a leaf irritates these hairs, which, in turn, signal the contraction of the cells in the inner part of the leaf and the “mouth” begins to close.
After a while, the inner part of the leaf begins to secrete digestive fluid and, exhausted from unsuccessful attempts to get out, the victim begins to slowly digest. This process takes quite a long time. It takes a flycatcher about a week to digest a slug.
Take a look at YouTube to see how this plant eats frogs and grasshoppers … it's impressive!
8. Cedar-Apple Rust Fungus
What turns a juicy healthy apple into a rotting lump of vile horror that harbors a whole brood of worms?
If your answer is a cedar-apple rotting mushroom (abbr. KYAGG), then, most likely, you were smart and just read this cunning interweaving of letters that adorns the beginning of this story!
KYAGG is a fungal infection that transforms apple and cedar fruits beyond recognition. At least right now, you can shoot horror films about this abomination. Infected fruits literally turn into disgusting monsters in just a few months.
Here's how it happens: from a tiny spore of the fungus, a spherical body develops of an impressive size - from 3.5 to 5 centimeters in diameter, when wet, this abomination stratifies, forming a disgusting antennae.
As a result, pine nuts and apples turn into little evil Cthulhu.
And yes! I strongly advise you not to taste them. You never know:)
9. Rafflesia
In the photo there are children who taste the incomparable aromas of rafflesia, who could just as well have slipped their "bright" heads into the asshole of a public village toilet.
Rafflesia is a parasitic plant of the Euphorbiacea family with the largest flowers in the world, some of which grow to over one meter in diameter and weigh more than eleven kilograms.
The parasite spends most of its life in the tissues of the host plant, in the role of which are vines from the grape family, growing in the tropical rainforests of Indonesia and the Philippines.
This unusual plant has no stem and roots, and its main part is a giant flower with five fleshy petals.
The giant parasite was discovered back in 1818, during the expedition of Thomas Stamford Raffles Rafflesia to the island of Sumatra. The specimen found then was 1 meter in diameter and weighed 6 kilograms. The travelers were struck not so much by the flower itself and its incredible size, but by the terrible cadaverous smell that emanated from it.
Because of this unusual smell, rafflesia flowers are pollinated by common flies.
By the way, flowers are the only thing that remains of rafflesia from its relatives - "normal" covered with seed plants. Leading a parasitic lifestyle on the "body" of lianas, rafflesia has completely lost all plant characteristics - roots, stem, the ability to photosynthesize, and the parasite receives all the nutrients from the "body" of the host.
The rafflesia seedling is gradually introduced into the roots of the host plant with the help of suckers (haustoria). Those parts of the seedling that, for whatever reason, were outside the host's "body" simply die off.
Presumably, the seeds of rafflesia are awakened to germination under the influence of the secretions of potential host plants. These same substances also orient the direction of seedling growth.
10. Chinese rune flower / Chinese Fleeceflower
The runeflower fruits have frightening shapes that make them look like little potato people.
The Chinese uproot these tiny underground inhabitants from the earth in order to use their naked, defenseless bodies as a panacea for all diseases, including impotence, cancer, AIDS, dementia, etc., etc …
Before turning into a life-giving powder, the little men are subjected to all kinds of torture, including boiling, skinning, soaking in moonshine and dismemberment.
Mark my words, soon the potatoes will get tired of the Chinese oppression and rebel against all of humanity. So think a few times before deciding to restore your "mojo" with the "rune flower".
11. Porcupine Tomato / Porcupine Tomato
Porcupine tomato is a one and a half meter monster growing in Madagascar, the leaves of which are covered with frightening-looking orange thorns.
This thorny wonder-Yuda has incredibly beautiful purple flowers gathered in bunches, with which it lures its victims to itself: and now you bend over to pick one of them and find yourself impaled on "deadly" thorns.
Besides the fact that the Porcupine tomato is prickly and poisonous, it is still almost impossible to kill it. Most of the chemicals he does not care and can survive severe cold and even severe drought.
As you already understood this creation of nature is a monster-like weed, which has set itself the goal of its existence to seize your personal plot.
In a short time, one plant can produce a whole army of Porcupine tomatoes, which in a few weeks will turn into 1.5 meter giants, each of which will fight to the last and shed more than one liter of your blood before being uprooted from the ground.
So if your garden is overrun with Porcupine tomatoes, then do not try to engage in open battle with them, but just take your feet away …