Disgusting smelling flower, what's it called??

[Martin G]

Check out this thing in my garden I don't ever remember planting it but it comes back every year it smells absolutely disgusting like a dead rat or something decaying.
It obviously is meant to and it does attract flies as if to dead flesh to pollinate it, but specifically green bottles and not blue bottles which is curious. I don't know it's name or anything about it .....does anyone looking in I wonder?

[Lesley Jay]

Martin I think it is the Dragon Arum lily.

[Martin G]

Thanks Lesley a nicer sounding name than it smells.

[Durgan]

Dracunculus vulgaris

http://arum.notlong.com/ 23 March 2007 Dracunculus vulgaris aka Arum dracunulus has survived a Winter outdoor planting in Zone 5.

http://xuwoni.notlong.com/ I June 2008 Dracunculus vulgaris. The plant is variously called the Dragon Arum, Voodoo Lily, Ragons, Snake Lily, Black Arum, Black Dragon, Dragonwort, & Stink Lily. Five plants eventually grew, and one is going to bloom soon. The spike on the larger plant is the blooming structure.

http://cheing.notlong.com 15 June 2008 Dracunulus vulgaris in bloom.
Early morning pictures and the flower was only partially open and later when the sun came out full, the bloom opened up, and now has a slight odour, and the flies are congregating. The plant odour attracts flies to assure pollination.

The odour only lasts about two days. I muse about this odour having some commercial application for attracting flies in a trap.

[Martin G]

Cool....I like that Durgan, and curiously apposite ....I've always been a closet vampire fan, one of my fantasy careers would have been to write an enduring vampire story.

[Durgan]

http://neque.notlong.com/ 17 June 2008 Dracunculus vulgaris

Two plants blooming.

[msbobbie]

How long have you had this "THING", Martin?

My Dragon Arum bloomed for the second time this year, and this year I got my first seed pod.

What I have read about it is the seeds dry and fall off then bugs scatter them all over. That is probably how you got your plants

They will multiply, but slowly. The odor only lasts a couple of days and I do not smell mine unless I am really close to it.

[PlantingJoe]

Interesting idea about commercial use of the plant for attracting flies to traps.