amorphophallus in bloom. Corpse Lily,amorphophallus dracunculus
amorphophallus dracunculus
Equally peculiar though far more common, the dragon lily shares several traits with the corpse flower. Both emit the scent of rotting flesh to attract carrion-eating pollinators. And like the corpse flower, the dragon lily or Dracunculus vulgaris is part of the family Araceae.
Despite its tropical appearance, the dragon lily is native to more temperate zones, while the corpse flower grows in botanical gardens and in the wild in Indonesia.
Fly pollination (myophily and sapromyophily)[edit]
Flies tend to be important pollinators in high-altitude and high-latitude systems, where they are numerous and other insect groups may be lacking.[7] There are two main types of fly pollination: myophily and sapromyophily.
Myophily includes flies that feed on nectar and pollen as adults - particularly bee flies (Bombyliidae), hoverflies (Syrphidae), and others - and these regularly visit flowers. In contrast, male fruit flies (Tephritidae) are enticed by specific floral attractants emitted by some wild orchids which do not produce nectar.[8][9] Chemicals emitted by the orchid act as the fly's sex pheromone precursor or booster. Myophilous plants tend not to emit a strong scent, are typically purple, violet, blue, and white, and have open dishes or tubes.[10]
Sapromyophiles, on the other hand, normally visit dead animals or dung. They are attracted to flowers which mimic the odor of such objects. The plant provides them with no reward and they leave quickly unless it has traps to slow them down. Such plants are far less common than myophilous ones.