Flowers are admired for the beauty and enticing scents they provide to our private and public spaces. 

Flowers are a source of pride for gardeners, a form of expression for lovers, and they play a part in both happy and sad societal rites.

Many plants have lovely flowers, but to be classified as having distinctive flowers, a plant must go above and beyond: its blossoms must be special in some way. 

In some situations, it may have bi-colored flowers or blossoms that are particularly huge or weirdly formed in others. The following are the ten most unique flowering plants:

Table of Contents

1. The Titan Arum (Amorphophallus Titanum)

Amorphophallus Titanum in a Green House Farm
Amorphophallus Titanum in a Green House Farm | Image Credit – Horticulture Week
Scientific NameAmorphophallus Titanum
DimensionHeight of 3 meters
Found onWestern Sumatra
Unique traitsRefer to it as a “corpse bride” because it resembled to the Tim Burton film

This flower is known as the mother of all flowers since it may reach a height of 3 meters. 

It also has one of the foulest odors in the plant kingdom, making it unsuitable for indoor use. 

The titan arum, Amorphophallus titanum, is a flowering plant of the Araceae family. It boasts the world’s biggest unbranched inflorescence. 

The titan arum is referred to as a carrion flower because of its decaying corpse-like stench. 

It is also known as the corpse flower or corpse plant (Indonesian: Bunga bangkai—Bunga means flower, while bangkai means corpse, cadaver, or carrion). 

Locals refer to it as a “corpse bride” because it resembled the Tim Burton film. The berries of the titan arum produce a consistent cylindrical shape that mimics the packing of spheres inside a cylindrical container.

2. Barringtonia Asiatica

Blooming Barringtonia asiatica
Blooming Barringtonia asiatica | Image Credit – Garden Manage
Scientific NameBarringtonia Asiatica
DimensionHeight: 7–25 meters Leaves are narrow obovate with a 20–40 cm length and a width of 10–20 cm.
Found onPacific and Indian Oceans
Unique traitsPoisonous in all tree parts

These blooms resemble a cheerleader’s pom pom appearance, especially when fully bloomed. 

They’re found off the beaches of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and their sickly sweet fragrance attracts critters like moths and bats. 

In some sections of India, such as several cities on the southeastern coast, it is cultivated along roadways for ornamental and shade purposes. 

Due to the distinctive box-shaped fruit it produces, it is also known as Box Fruit.

It’s a small to medium-sized tree that reaches 7–25 meters in height. The leaves are narrow obovate with a 20–40 cm length and a width of 10–20 cm. 

The active poisons, which include saponins, are poisonous tree parts. The toxic properties of box fruits have led to their use as a fish poison. 

The seeds are pounded into a powder and used to stun or kill fish to make them easier to catch.

3. Jade Vine (Strongylodon Macrobotrys)

Jade Green Vine
Jade Green Vine | Image Credit – Excelsa Garden
Scientific NameStrongylodon Macrobotrys
Dimension18 meters in height 
Found onPhilippines
Unique traitsClaw-shaped flowers held in dangling trusses or pseudoracemes

The Jade Vine may reach a staggering 18 meters in height and resembles a tangle of thick drapes. 

Bats pollinate this species, which appears to be mesmerized by the brilliance of the vine’s blossoms. 

Because of significant deforestation in its native Philippines, the Jade Vine may not be there for much longer.

The claw-shaped flowers are held in dangling trusses or pseudoracemes of 75 or more blossoms that can grow up to 3 meters in length. It has a lot in common with beans like kidney beans and runner beans.

4. Buddhist Udumbara

Buddhist Udumbara
Buddhist Udumbara | Image Credit – Falgu Dafa
Scientific NameFicus glomerata
DimensionFlower 1mm in diameter
Found onChina
Unique traitsBlossoms once every 3,000 years 

According to Buddhist belief, this incredibly rare flower blooms once every 3,000 years. 

A Chinese nun discovered it in 2010 in the shape of a 1 mm white blossom tucked beneath her washing machine, earning it the nickname “an auspicious flower from heaven.” Despite their small size, these blossoms have a strong smell.

5. Drosera Rotundifolia

Drosera Rotundifolia
Drosera Rotundifolia | Image Credit – Wack’s Wicked Plants
Scientific NameDrosera Rotundifolia
Dimension3 to 5 centimeters in diameter
Found onNorthern Europe, Siberia, northern North America, Korea, and Japan
Unique traitsHas sticky hairs with glands instead of petals that resemble pyrotechnics.

Unlike many other flowers, the Common Sundew has sticky hairs with glands instead of petals that resemble pyrotechnics. 

Insects are drawn to the plant by the sticky ooze, which glistens in the light. Darwin spent 285 pages on this variety, detailing several tests he conducted on the plant.

6. Cuphea Llavea

Cuphea Llavea
Cuphea Llavea | Image Credit – Gardenia
Scientific NameCuphea Llavea
Dimension18-30 in tall (45-75 cm) and 24-36 in. wide (60-90 cm)
Found onMexico
Unique traitsDark purple face with black lobes that resemble enraged bats

This Mexican plant has a dark purple face with black lobes that resemble enraged bats. 

This vibrant shrub is an excellent addition to any garden, mainly because the blossoms remain for an extended period. They thrive in hot weather and attract various species, including hummingbirds.

7. Sea Holly (Eryngium Maritimum)

Sea Holly farming | Image Credit – Garden Splendor® Plants
Scientific NameEryngium Maritimum
Dimension20 to 60 cm hight
Found onBeaches with sand and shingle, foredunes and yellow dunes, as well as semi-permanent gray dunes
Unique traitsA sequence of steely blue blossoms and metallic blue blooms

Sea Holly has a sequence of steely blue blossoms and metallic blue blooms, unlike typical holly. 

Despite its extensive distribution, it is considered endangered in several regions, including Germany, where its prevalence has decreased and has been locally extinct in numerous districts. 

It has a burr-shaped flower similar to a plume thistle, except the blossoms are metallic blue rather than mauve. When shielded from the wind, this dune plant can reach a height of 20 to 60 cm.

8. SnapDragon and its Skull

Snapdragon flower skull looks like skull when it dies
Snapdragon flower skull looks like skull when it dies | Image Credit – Loud Wire
Scientific NameAntirrhinum
Dimension6–48 in. wide (variety dependent), 6–12 in. across
Found onUnited States, Europe, Canada, and North Africa
Unique traitsShaped like a dragon’s head

This strange plant, sometimes known as the ‘Dragon Flower,’ is shaped like a dragon’s head. 

When the blossoms are pinched, they resemble a dragon’s mouth opening and shutting. 

It leaves behind a seedpod with a skull-like form when the flower decays. The SnapDragon flower is thought to have magical properties in several cultures. 

Many people assumed that gardens displaying this species were cursed by witchcraft. Others say that eating the plant might help restore beauty and youth.

9. Lithops Weberi (Lithops Comptonii)

Lithos Comptonii in a Flowepot
Lithos Comptonii in a Flowepot | Image Credit – Wikipedia Commons
Scientific NameLithops Comptonii
Dimension20-35 mm length, 15-23 mm height
Found onExtreme southwest of South Africa, in the Western Cape Province’s dry hinterland region
Unique traitsDisguise themselves as pebbles and rocks, allowing them to escape being eaten by predators or animals

The Lithops Weberi is a South African native whose name comes from the ancient Greek language. 

They’re a cunning species since they can disguise themselves as pebbles and rocks, allowing them to escape being eaten by predators or animals. 

The plant has one or more bulbous leaves and is relatively low to the ground. Each leaf has a transparent surface that permits photosynthesis to take place by allowing light to reach the plant’s core. 

Yellow and white blooms continue to blossom as new leaves emerge. The plant can sink into the earth to protect itself from the effects of the environment during a drought or harsh weather.

10. Night-Blooming Cereus (Epiphyllum Oxypetalum)

Night Blooming Cereus
Night Blooming Cereus | Image Credit – Pinterest
Scientific NameEpiphyllum Oxypetalum
Dimension30 cm long and 17 cm wide
Found onSouthern Mexico and to extensive areas of South America
Unique traitsBlooms for one night each year

This flower is so popular that parties have been held in its honor, because it only blooms for one night each year. 

It’s also known for having one of the most enticing and tempting scents of any floral species, which it produces through trumpet-shaped blossoms.

This plant, sometimes known as the ‘Queen of the Night,‘ is one of the most unusual desert plants. 

It’s rarely spotted in the wild due to its inconspicuousness and location. Expect an abundance of waxy, creamy-white blooms with petals, as well as a red-orange, short-spined elliptical fruit that is barely three inches long, if you’re lucky enough to witness this blossom.

The flowers grow on flattened stems and are up to 30 cm long and 17 cm wide, nocturnal, and very fragrant. 

The principal odor components in the aroma are benzyl salicylate and methyl linoleate.

Conclusion

Beauty is a daily occurrence in the floristry world, yet, as with most things in life, it is often in the eye of the beholder. 

Flowers can improve moods, reduce despair, and boost creativity. Flowers are clearly vital for nature and humans in a variety of ways.

(Last Updated on March 25, 2022 by Sadrish Dabadi)

Rishu Shakya, a bachelor’s degree graduate in Business Information Management, holds an extraordinary empathy towards mother nature and her ecosystem. She has always been captivated by green Earth and its charm. She regards spreading awareness about clean energy and sustainable development as her passion as well as responsibility. She believes her compassion about the Earth and human relationships will undoubtedly assist our planet to be a better place.