- Rain forests can be found in areas near the equator across the globe that have a high amount of rainfall. They average between 80 and 100 inches of rainfall a year, which allows for an abundance of varying vegetation to grow. Some of these differences are characterized by size, color and diet, and some have even developed a taste for flesh.
- The Amorphophallus titanum can be found in the rain forests of Borneo. A typical plant weighs between 70 and 135 pounds (25 and 50 kilograms) and has a purple interior with a yellow spadix. A spadix is a fleshy center point with tiny flowers on it. While the plant can live up to 40 years, the flowers last only for a day before falling to the ground. It is also called the corpse flower due to the smell it emits during the first 8 hours of blooming. The smell is said to be a mix of rotten eggs and a rotting carcass, which attracts the flies necessary for the pollination process.
- The carnivorous Nepenthes make their home in the Asia Pacific region of the world and can even be found in the northern part of Australia. The plant itself looks like a giant pitcher with a lid-like appendage on top. When prey is unlucky enough to be caught inside the "pitcher," it usually drowns in a sticky, syrupy fluid made by the plant itself. Their diet consists mostly of insects but they have been known to dine on trapped frogs and scorpions. They are now cultivated around the world and sold as plants.
- The rafflesia is a parasite that does not kill its host. It lacks chlorophyll and cannot take part in photosynthesis. The plant doesn't have any noticeable stems, leaves or roots. Its flower can be up to 3 feet in diameter and has a white disk in the middle with tendrils poking out. A casual observer may take it for a fungus. The stems of the reddish-brown flowers have wart-like growths which, along with its putrid smell, attract the flies necessary for future generations.
Amorphophallus Titanum
Nepenthes
Rafflesia
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