Strange but True Info on Stinky Plants

Stinky Plants

The Magnificent Stinker
Giant Voodoo Lily. Snake Lily. Devil's Tongue
Amorphophallus albispathus, atroviridis, bulbifer, eichleri, henryi, konjac, koratensis, mueller, opertus, paeoniifolius, riverii, saururus, titanum

Description. A group of plants which includes spectacular examples such as titanum, with frilly outer collars, green on the outside, deep purple on the inside and a long pointed purple-shading-to-green tongue in the center. The giant varieties grow to over six feet tall and they stink! There is an awesome website at Fairchild Tropical Garden showing the characteristics and stages of growth of this weird, wonderful plant. Grows in zones 8 to 10 and bulbs can be found for about $15 each.
Uses. Caution, this plant is considered poisonous, don't use it to flavor your breakfast cereal. However, the root of Amorphophallus konjac is apparently used as a vegetable food in Japan. It's pretty weird in this way as well; it reportedly absorbs great quantities of fluids, like a sponge, and serves as a fiber. Amorphophallus rivieri has traditionally been used to treat snake bites.

The Skinny, Spiky, Reptilian Stinker
Voodoo Lily Sauromatum guttatum (venosum)

Growers of guttatum say it is fascinating and particularly stinky, describing the smell as like a vomitty-poopy smell (not pretty but descriptive). The plant itself is fascinating, growing as a long, dark, speckly, pointy spike. Then the outer husk splits and reveals a speckly 'pulpit' with another long, slender spike poking up from the center. The plant is said to emit noticeable heat while growing. The mature venosum plant has large green leaves somewhat resembling an umbrella plant.
Sauromatum is an Araceae, most of which are shrubs and herbs. Bulbs can be purchased for about $6 each.
Strangely, people have actually used this smelly substance in aromatherapy products. To each his own.

The Incredible Stinky Edible
Durian fruit, Duren, Thurian Bombaceae Durio zibethinus L./Murr

This strange large fruit from southeast Asia has a stench so strong people can smell it before you bring the fruit in the door. It's so pungeant, there are public areas in Asian posted with "No Durian" signs where you can't bring it! Orangutans will sit in trees sampling this fruit and it is used in a wide variety of Asian cuisines. It breaks into sections, with beige brain-like chunks of different sizes inside the spiny husk.
Julie Benson has tasted imported Durian fruit made into ice cream in a Thai restaurant, and reports that the first mouthful was interesting and not so bad as she expected, the second mouthful was more pungeant, quite an experience, and by the third mouthful she realized that was enough, because a carrion taste had begun to emerge. Time to stop, but worth trying!
There's a great personal account about experiences with fresh Durian fruit in Asia by Phil Johnson. Philip Shenon has written an interesting Love It or Hate It article about Durian fruit for the New York Times.
Still want to know more about this intriguing fruit? Durian OnLine has a whole lot more information you might enjoy. It even includes Durian cartoons.

The Stinky Medicinal
Hawaiian Noni, Mengkudu, Nhau, Nonu, Nono, Indian Mulberry Morinda citrifolia

The noni is a South Pacific plant with berries with a truly stinky odor and a disagreeable taste to many people. It was transported with early settlers, and traded by early boat travellers and is said to have been brought to Hawaii from Tahiti.
There's a good site at hmt.com that illustrates and describes this plant's characteristics.
Traditionally noni fruit has been used for food, and as a medicinal in the South Pacific, particularly to aid digestion. Benefits appear to be best achieved by drinking a juice 20 minutes or so before a meal.
R. M. Heinicke of the University of Hawaii reports that noni fruits have a precursor to xeromine as well as the inactive form of the enzyme which releases xeronine from pro xeronine which may aid in protein regulation.

The Bug-blasting Stinky Plant
Citronella, Mosquito Plant elargonium, true geranium

This is not a plant you would want to grow indoors, or it will stink up your house. However, many companies use the citronella oil to make insect repellent, and the plant, when grown around patios, may discourage mosquitoes to some extent. I've heard the citronella candle products don't really work that well unless you are directly in the path of the smoke. The plants probably have the same limitations, unless you want to make mosquito plant garlands to wrap around your bod.

The Ugly Deer-proof Plant
Hayes iva, San Diego Marsh Elder, Poor Man's Timothy Iva hayesiana

This rather unappealing ground cover smells bad when brushed or crushed, and deer don't seem to like it, so if you plant your garden full of this stuff, it will keep both your neighbors and the deer away. Some people might like that.

The Forest Skunky Plant
Skunk Cabbage Lysichiton americanus, camchatanensis, Symplocarpus foetidus

Skunk cabbage is in the family Araceae. Depending on the variety, skunk cabbage has yellow, white or maroon 'blooms' surrounding the central calyx. These interesting plants like damp forest floors and can become quite large, with broad, somewhat shiny green leaves. Common in cooler climates in shaded areas. It is not uncommon to smell the skunky odor of the plant before seeing it.
There's a wonderful photo database search engine at Berkeley that shows images of skunk cabbages and their habitat. If you use it, be sure to type the botanical names carefully; they're easy to misspell. This fantastic resource grants permission to use the images for non-commercial purposes.
Caution: Skunk cabbage contains calcium oxalate which can cause burning and swelling.

Plant Recipes

Be aware that many plants and many parts of plants are toxic. The safebaby.net site offers baby safety information and charts of poisonous plants.
Did you know that a number of house and garden plants can make your cat sick? Here is a list of plants that may be poisonous to cats.

Having said that, many indigenous cultures used some parts of poisonous plants, often carefully preprocessed for food, used with discretion. We don't recommend that you take chances, but we do encourage you to learn more about it.

If you've read the information about Durian fruit and you just have to try some, there's a Web page devoted to Durian fruit recipes at Durian Online.

Books on Plants and Plant Bulbs

The Exotic Garden : Designing With Tropical Plants in Any Climate ~ Usually ships in 24 hours Richard R. Iversen, et al / Hardcover / Published 1999
Price: $19.57 ~ You Save: $8.38 (30%)

Exotic Plants : For House and Garden ~ Usually ships in 24 hours
Julia Frances, Morton / Paperback / Published 1977
Price: $4.95

Manual of Bulbs (New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary John E. Bryan (Editor), Mark Griffiths (Editor)
Usually ships in 2 to 3 days
Price $49.95. Hardover 446 pages.

Spread the Word!

If you love humor, and you want to be able to read the Julie Benson columns, contact your local newspaper, your favorite magazine, or community group and tell them it's professional syndicated humor available for download right off the net!

Spread the word! Put this icon on your site!! . . . . . -->

If you have great links to humor sites online, and you want to include the Julie Benson Column, just link to http://www.juliebenson.com, and you can even pretty up your page by including the icon, provided you don't modify it, available as http://www.juliebenson/Pics/bensonicon.gif.

All contents of this pages copyright © 1999 onward by the author.
.