Nature’s 19 most disgusting plants and fungi

1: The mushroom with no shame

The common stinkhorn, Phallus impudicus, – whose latinate name directly translates as ‘shameless phallus’ – grows as tall as 25cm and will pop up across woodlands, emitting a rotting-flesh scent from its slimy brown tip. It first appears as an egg, partly submerged in its surroundings. When ready, the phallic mushroom will shoot up from that egg within the space of just a few hours. It is actually edible at the egg stage, and in France and Germany, the powdered fungus is said to be used as an aphrodisiac for cattle. We'd not advise this.

2: The stinking, self-heating cabbage

Found along stream banks in the Upper Midwest and Northeastern United States, Symplocarpus foetidus, or skunk cabbage, is one of the first plants to flower in the spring, even in freezing temperatures. This strange plant can actually generate heat via an unusual form of cellular respiration. In fact, temperatures inside its spathe (the flower-like bract) are on average 20 degrees warmer than in the surrounding air – giving its stinky flowers the best chance of getting pollinated by passing flies.

3: The mushroom that bleeds

Found in North America and much of Europe, Hydnellum peckii, has a number of common names, ranging from the innocent-sounding 'strawberries and cream' to 'bleeding tooth fungus' or the 'Devil’s fungus'. The reason is obvious – this white fungus releases bright red excess liquid, caused by high root pressure, which looks disturbingly similar to blood.

4: The plant that torments prey with false exits and slippery walls

Lurking in the bogs and riversides of northern California, the Cobra lily, Darlingtonia californica, waits for its next meal. Unlike many other pitcher plants, this one has developed slippery walls and false exits to confuse its insect prey once inside its snake-like trap.

5: The plant that doubles up as a bat toilet

Many plants make use of dung after it has rotted down into the soil, taking up nutrients through their roots. But in Borneo, Nepenthes hemsleyana has found a way to short-cut the process, providing woolly bats with a cosy roosting spot complete with a prominent ridge above its pitcher – which then conveniently catches and digests their droppings.

6: The plant that gets bugs to do its dirty work

The sticky hairs on the leaves of the Gorgon's drumstick, Roridula gorgonias, are excellent at trapping insects. But surprisingly, instead of eating its prey, it holds them steady so the assassin bug, Pameridea rorudulae, can eat them instead. The plant, which is endemic in South Africa, then absorbs the assassin bug’s excrement through specialised cuticular gaps in its leaves.

7: The giant flower that stinks of rotting flesh

Measuring in at 1m wide, Rafflesia arnoldii is the single largest individual flower in the world. But in nature, as in life, size is not everything. This enormous flower stinks of rotting flesh to attract flies and beetles. Known as the stinking corpse lily because of its stench, it has no leaves, stems or roots, growing as a parasite inside vines deep in the rainforests of Borneo.

8: The plant that swallows rats and birds

The giant pitcher plant, Nepenthes rajah, has pitchers so large that monkeys have been spotted drinking out of them in its Malaysian Borneo habitat. But pity any rat or bird which slips and falls into its traps, which can be as deep as 40cm. While designed to digest insects, the plant is perfectly happy to dissolve and absorb any unfortunate mammals that might fall inside, too.

9: The smelly, phallic mushroom that would make your granny blush

If you go down to the woods today, the stinking, phallic dog stinkhorn mushroom Mutinus caninus might give you a big surprise. The red tip of the protruding fungi is buried in a dark-olive slime, known as gleba, which contains its spores.

10: The world’s deadliest tree

Known as the little apple of death, the Manchineel tree, Hippomane mancinella, is a member of the euphorbia family, which is well known to have toxic sap. The tree, found in North and Southern America, grows up to 15 metres tall, and its milky sap can cause excruciating pain, inflammation and blistering. Even standing underneath it to shelter from the rain can result in exposure to its toxins. Interestingly, the compound responsible for all the damage, huratoxin, has shown promising results in laboratory studies for its potential to inhibit the growth of human cancer cells – but it’s best to let the scientists get on with it and stay well away.

11: The sticky tentacles that trap and then digest insects

Looking like some kind of alien Christmas decoration, the sundew or Drosera spp. first ensnares prey in its sticky tentacles, and then produces digestive enzymes to consume them. Despite this unappetising habit, humans have cultivated the plant for centuries, making tea from its flowers and roots as a traditional European remedy for respiratory diseases like bronchitis and asthma.

12: The flower that looks like dead meat

With a blood-red bloom and a dead meat smell, Dracunculus vulgaris or dragon arum has deep red flowers reaching over 1m in height, which could be mistaken for a severed organ. This intriguing plant was originally found in central to eastern Mediterranean countries, but can be grown as a tender bulb in the UK, in case you fancy freaking out the neighbours.

13: The stinking leaves that trap tiny flies

Native to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the yellow-green, sticky leaves of the butterwort, Pinguicula spp, excrete a sticky fluid that tempts, traps and then digests the flies attracted by its fungal, musty scent.

14: The throttling vine that smells of stinking feet

This is not a vine that you’d want to encourage in your back garden. Not only does the skunk vine, Paederia foetida, stink of rotting vegetables or very smelly feet, but it also rapidly outcompetes and even smothers other plants in its native Asian heartlands.

15: The edible tuber with a revolting-smelling flower

Just like dahlias and potatoes, the tubers of the elephant foot yam, Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, are edible and widely consumed in South East Asia, Madagascar and the Pacific Islands. But unlike dahlias, this plant is unlikely to become one you’d cultivate for the flowers. Once in full bloom, this bizarre flower, which resembles a rotting mushroom in a flesh-covered saucer, stinks strongly of decaying flesh.

16: The vampiric vine that sends tiny, deadly strands to suck nutrients from other plants

Found throughout temperate and tropical regions across the world, the delicate strands of the parasitic dodder vine, Cuscuta spp, are yellow, red or brown but never green, as they do not have the chlorophyll needed to photosynthesise on their own. Instead, they sniff out and attach to other plants using sucker-like structures called haustoria. From there, they burrow inside and suck out nutrients and water.

17: The bat out of… hell?

The gothic, black-purple blooms of the bat flower, Tacca chantrieri, could easily find a place in the Stranger Things' Upside Down, as they resemble a deep purple, otherworldly winged creature. This rhizomatous herbaceous perennial grows as tall as 1m and is found in Southern China and Malaysia. It can be grown in the UK, but is frost-tender and needs protection over winter.

18: The seeds with six-inch claws

The hooks on the seedpods of the devil’s claw, Proboscidea louisianica, can grow as long as 20cm, allowing them to grip onto passing animals and reach ever further distances. The plant itself, which is found in the Southwestern United States, stinks. Its slimy leaves kill the small flies, gnats and beetles that accumulate on them, but unlike the majority of other stinky plants, it does not actually eat them. It is thought that the slime is a predator defence mechanism rather than a digestive fluid.

19: The flower that holds pollinators hostage

The foul-smelling blooms of the Dutchman’s pipe, Aristolochia gigantea, tempt pollinators in search of rotting meat. Insects crawl down a tube coated in stiff hairs, which allow only one-way access, preventing them from escaping. Only when the bugs are sufficiently coated in pollen do the hairs relax – and allow the confused mini-beasts to fly free.