A one-of-a-kind flower endemic to Greece is believed to emit a scent
similar to that of decomposing insects in order to attract one of its
main pollinators, the coffin fly.
Flowers are usually associated with sweet, pleasant smells, but truth is
that not all flowers smell nice. In fact, some smell like some of the
grossest thing in the world, and that’s by design, because their
pollinators are actually attracted to these disgusting scents. Take
Aristolochia microstoma, a small flower endemic to Greece, which
deceives its main pollinator, the coffin fly, by emitting a highly
unusual mix of scents that includes a compound found in dead beetles. As
their name suggests, coffin flies are attracted to carrion, to the scent
lures them into the flower where they are trapped long enough to deposit
any pollen they carry onto the female organs.
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“Many Aristolochia species are known to attract flies with floral
scents, for example mimicking the smell of carrion or feces of mammals,
decaying plants, or fungi,” said Thomas Rupp, the main author of a study
on the flower’s deceptive tactics. “But our curiosity was piqued by A.
microstoma, a species known only from Greece: unlike other Aristolochia
with their showy flowers, A. microstoma has inconspicuous brownish
flowers that lie horizontally, partly buried or close to the ground
among leaf litter or rocks. The flowers release an unpleasant,
carrion-like smell, noticeable to people at a short distance.”
Until now, it was believed that Aristolochia microstoma was pollinated
by small arthropods, like ants, but this recent study has shown that to
be false. The foul-smelling cocktail emitted by the inconspicuous brown
flowers contains several compounds that are very attractive to coffin
flies.
“Very few plants are known to produce this compound, strongly suggesting
that A. microstoma mimics an unusual fake ‘reward’ to attract specialist
pollinators,” the authors of the study wrote. “Our results suggest that
this is the first known case of a flower that tricks pollinators by
smelling like dead and rotting insects rather than vertebrate carrion.”
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Although many of the hundreds of flowers in the Aristolochia genus use
deception to attract pollinators, they do it with pleasant scents and
impressive-looking, colorful flowers. Aristolochia microstoma, on the
other hand, are brownish flowers that lie horizontally, partly buried or
close to the ground among leaf litter or rocks. Not the most inviting
looking plants, but their off-putting scent is irresistible to coffin
flies.
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