Strangest Tree And Plant Species You Won’t Believe Are Real

The Hydnora Africana is a strange plant native to Southern Africa with no stem or leaves, just made up of one big fleshy flower and roots. It is a parasite that survives by binding its roots to a spurge plant's roots and sponging nutrients from them, negating the need for leaves to convert sunlight into energy.

The Australian Flying Duck Orchid mimics the appearance of a female sawfly to attract male sawflies, who land on the orchid hoping to mate but end up getting covered in pollen instead. When the flies leave, they spread the pollen onto other plants, starting the reproductive process.

The Welwitschia plant survives in the harsh conditions of the Namib Desert by trapping moisture from fog between tiny hairs on its large leaves and then absorbing it. It has only two leaves that never shed and continue to grow throughout the plant's life which can span over 1,500 years.

A "Miracle Berry" is a berry that, when eaten, makes sour foods taste sweet. It contains a glycoprotein called miraculin that binds to sweetness receptors on the tongue and activates for acids found in sour foods instead of sweet foods, tricking your taste buds.

Exploding cucumbers disperse their seeds by exploding once their fruit reaches peak ripeness. The internal pressure within the fruit, created by a thick, gooey liquid called mucilage, causes it to burst and shoot seeds out at speeds of almost 60 miles an hour, up to 20 feet away.

The resurrection plant, found in the Chihuahuan Desert in Mexico, can survive extremely dry conditions by detaching its roots and shriveling into a ball to endure dehydration. It creates a sugar called trehalose to protect its cells, and once it finds water, it rehydrates and forms new roots.

The Rainbow Eucalyptus reveals a green layer of inner bark as the outer layers peel away, which changes into different colors upon exposure to air. The process, along with pigments called tannins in yellow, brown, and red, creates the tree's psychedelic pattern.