Dracunculus vulagris and some Brodiaea

Jane McGary janemcgary@earthlink.net
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


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