How does the smell of the carrion flower help it?
Carrion flowers are large group of succulent plants, most native to southern Africa. In this part of the world there are no honey bees, so plants evolved for pollination by other insects. Due to the vast landscape populated by wild game, the incidence of large animal kills is quite common. While they are consumed by predators and scavengers, flies become the most common insect.The carrion flowers evolved blooms that both look and smell like a decaying animal corpse. They feature the color of blood and flesh as well as the byproducts of decomposition. Such flowers lure flies by their odor, which resembles the unpleasant and unmistakable stench of death. Among the most common genera of this clan are Stapelia and Huernia, which thrive in the heat of the desert Southwest, and to a lesser extent Edithcolea.