Dracunculus vulagris and some Brodiaea
Jane McGary (Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:03:10 PDT)
Rodger wrote,
My Arum dioscorides is undoubtedly stinkier than your Dracunculus vulgaris!
Instead of rotting flesh, it smells like a compost heap that has been over-
watered and under-aerated and has, in consequence, gone to the dark side.
As it grows here, Arum dioscoridis smells very like cow manure, and
Dracunculus smells exactly like a rotting animal corpse. I'd say
Dracunculus is worse. When it blooms, my first reaction is "Where did
the dogs leave a dead mole?"
Another aggressive stinker in the bulb collection is Fritillaria
agrestis (common name, "Stink bells"). I have a number of Biarum
species, and none seems particularly offensive. I used to have some
Ferraria species in the solarium, but I got rid of them; their scent
is offensive even though it doesn't resemble anything I can identify
(lion dung, perhaps?).
Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA