From a plant that flowers underground to one that looks like a monkey’s face, there’s a plethora of weird plants out there. Here are our favourites…<\/p>

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Weirdest plants in the world<\/h2>
Fairy lantern<\/h3>
Fairy lantern. Credit: Thouny, https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Lacking leaves and chlorophyll and unable to photosynthesise<\/a>, the dainty fairy lantern<\/a> is definitely worthy of a place on the weirdest plants list. It is nourished by subterranean fungi (mycoheterotrophy) and is only visible when in flower, a tiny flower that is just 10-18mm tall. The species was discovered by Italian botanist Odoardo Beccarii in 1866, but remained unseen until 2018.<\/p>
Thurber’s stemsucker<\/h3>
$\"\"$
Thurber’s stemsucker. Credit: Matt Berger, https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>
It has no roots or leaves of its own. In fact, it consists of little more than these minuscule flowers, which attract pollinators with a strong, fruity fragrance. Stemsuckers have conventionally been classified with Rafflesia \u2013 another parasite, albeit one that produces the largest single flower on Earth \u2013 though they are now thought to be the unlikely relatives of cucumbers and pumpkins. <\/p>
Flowers rarely sprout directly from a plant\u2019s woody stems. But these diminutive blooms don\u2019t even belong to the plant whose stem they are sprouting from. Thurber’s stemsucker is a tiny parasitic plant that grows within the tissues of other species in the deserts of southern USA and Mexico. Stuart Blackman<\/em><\/p>
Hydnora africana<\/em><\/h3> $\"Hydnora$
Hydnora africana. Credit: Lytton John Musselman, http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>
It looks like an extra-terrestrial being that fell to Earth, but this is the flower of Hydnora africana<\/em><\/a><\/strong>, which lives in the deserts of Southern Africa. The plant is unusual in having no roots, leaves or chlorophyll and, apart from its flower, living entirely underground.<\/p>
It behaves like a subterranean vampire, using suckers on its stem to draw out juices from the roots of its prey, the shrubby Euphorbia mauritanica<\/em>. The only sign of the plant above ground is when the flowerbud bursts up, swells and opens its shocking pink bloom.<\/p>
Nepenthes lowii<\/em><\/h3> $\"Nepenthes$
Nepenthes lowii. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>
They\u2019re like toilets on a stick \u2013 for tree shrews. Meet Nepenthes lowii<\/em><\/a>, the world\u2019s only known plant that actively collects and consumes poo.<\/p>
Funnel-shaped, with a permanently open lid slathered in buttery nectar, the pitcher attracts a regular patron with a sweet tooth \u2013 the mountain tree shrew. The funnel itself is wide and shallow \u2013 an ideal place for a shrew to defecate while dining. With its customer\u2019s backside positioned directly above its mouth, the pitcher catches any droppings.<\/p>
Dracula orchid<\/h3> $\"\"$
Dracula orchid. Credit: Orchi, http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Orchids hold the title of the largest family of plants on the planet. With about 28,000 recognised species, there\u2019s vast variety in their forms. Some of these delightfully diverse blooms even bear a remarkable resemblance to something else entirely \u2013 from swaddled babies and \u2018laughing\u2019 bees to flying ducks and naked men. Those in the genus Dracula, such as Dracula benedictii, which is found in Colombia, are often referred to as \u2018monkey face orchids\u2019, as many people see some semblance to simians, rather than a bloodthirsty Transylvanian count.<\/p>
Dragon’s blood tree<\/h3>
$\"Dragon's$
Dragon’s blood tree. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>
From afar, they look rather like the cartoon trees a young child might draw, or huge umbrellas blown inside out. Dragon\u2019s blood trees are unique to the desert island of Socotra, a hotbed of evolution lying off the coasts of Yemen and Ethiopia, where soils are thin and rain scarce.<\/p>
Their unusual shape traps precious moisture from sea mists. Water condenses on the trees\u2019 waxy leaves, then dribbles down branches to the grateful roots. The dense foliage helps to reduce water loss. Why the strange name? If cut, the bark \u2018bleeds\u2019 a reddish resin, which has long been tapped and dried for sale as a medicine or dye. According to legend, the trees grow where blood was spilled during a titanic battle between an elephant and dragon. Ben Hoare<\/em><\/p>
Rainbow eucalyptus<\/h3> $\"\"$
Rainbow eucalyptus. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>
It\u2019s hard to beat an arboreal display of autumn colour. But it\u2019s usually the foliage, not the bark, that takes one\u2019s breath away. And the rainbow eucalyptus doesn\u2019t even limit its display to the autumn. Eucalyptus trees, of which there are more than 700 species, are about as Australian as the koalas that munch on their foliage. The rainbow, though, is one of only four species that aren\u2019t found there at all, with a range encompassing Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. Unsurprisingly, it has proved a popular ornamental export \u2013 this colourful specimen was photographed in Costa Rica. Stuart Blackman<\/em><\/p>
Flying duck orchid<\/h3>
$\"\u00a9$
Flying duck orchid. Credit: Peter de Lange, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>
No prizes for guessing how the flying duck orchid got its name. So uncanny is the similarity to its avian namesake that there is fun to be had trying to identify the precise species \u2013 and even the gender \u2013 of duck involved (any advance on male mallard?). The only slight disappointment is that this remarkable Australian plant is not pollinated by waterfowl. The resemblance is apparently purely coincidental \u2013 it instead attracts male sawflies. The species was first described from a specimen collected in 1803 from Bennelong Point, today the site of the Sydney Opera House. It can still be found in coastal habitats in Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania. <\/p>
Discover more weird and wonderful wildlife<\/strong><\/p>
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Weirdest fish: 12 of the strangest fish in the world<\/a><\/li><\/ul> <\/body><\/html>\n
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Weirdest plants in the world<\/h2>