Deherainia smaragdina

Plant of the month: March

Deherainia smaragdina

Also Known As: dog mess plant (due to its unpleasant smell)

Native To: Tropical Mexico

Blooms: winter to spring, foliage evergreen

Habitat: Humid, tropical forest

Where Found At BBG: Tropical House

 

THESE INVISIBLE GREEN FLOWERS CAN CAUSE QUITE A STINK!

This evergreen, tropical shrub in the Primula family has emerald-green flowers (‘smaragdina’ is Greek for emerald). They smell rather unpleasant and do this for a reason. The smell attracts carrion flies which pollinate them and without this stink, they would not notice the green flowers against the foliage. Deherainia is named after the 19th century plant physiologist Pierre Paul Dehérain, who worked on plant photosynthesis and respiration.