Why Do Some Carrion Flowers Smell Like Flatulence?
Carrion insects feed on feces, rotting flesh and other decaying organic matter, and they also lay their eggs in these damp, putrid-smelling places. Carrion flowers are masters in the art of deception because they lure these insects into their blossoms. The flowers get pollinated but the fate of the insects is much more dismal–maggots hatching from eggs laid by them will perish from lack of any suitable food. Unlike typical insect-pollinated flowers, most carrion flowers do not waste precious energy on rewarding its pollinators with copious nectar. Blossoms of certain members of the arum family (Araceae) release volatile dimethyl oligosulphides to attract blowflies. The overpowering stench of some carrion flowers may be caused (in part) by putrescine (1,4-butanediamine) and cadaverine (1,5-pentanediamine), relatively simple amine compounds derived from the amino acids ornithine and lysine. These potent, foul-smelling amines are also produced during the decomposition of rotting proteins
