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Do carnivorous plant flowers smell???

Some people say that since they eat bugs, they smell horrible. Other people say they smell good(depending on species). Another group of people say they smell good all together.
So what is it??? I know that a lot of carnivorous plant flowers don't have a scent, but what is your take on this XD!? (BTW I heard that the yellow (oreophila) pitcher plant flowers smell similar to the common easter lily, is that true?) I hope to make this an interesting thread :-O
 
Nepenthes flowers have a distinct "odor", immediately identifiable when you have half a dozen plants in bloom at once, and it is sunny and warm in the greenhouse. Some Drosera like D. roseana smell very sweet.
 
Utricularia alpina has a sweet citrus like scent. Sort of like the lavender roses
 
I'm glad you brought this up. Some people mistake plants like the voodoo lily or skunk cabbage to be carnivorous; and since these smell bad, they thing all Carnivores smell bad. Really the opposite is true. To me, Sarracenia leucophylla has a sweet minty smell with a hint of smoke. S. flava has a more citrus like smell, which some people call feline but I can't quite detect that. S. rubra has a cherry kool aid scent. As for S. oreophila, I just added this plant to my collection, so I'll have to wait until spring to verify it's scent.
 
Nepenthes flowers :puke: . . . Enough said.
 
Nepenthes flowers have a distinct "odor", immediately identifiable when you have half a dozen plants in bloom at once, and it is sunny and warm in the greenhouse. Some Drosera like D. roseana smell very sweet.
I never knew that nepenthes and drosera blooms have scents!
Utricularia alpina has a sweet citrus like scent. Sort of like the lavender roses
Wow, I didn't know that utricularias (especially orchid or epiphytic ones) have scents. BTW I am jealous of anyone who has Utricularia Alpina. :cry:
Some people mistake plants like the voodoo lily or skunk cabbage to be carnivorous; and since these smell bad, they thing all Carnivores smell bad. Really the opposite is true.
Funny how people assume if a plant is stinky and attracts bugs, it's immediately a carnivorous plant! :-))
To me, Sarracenia leucophylla has a sweet minty smell with a hint of smoke. S. flava has a more citrus like smell, which some people call feline but I can't quite detect that. S. rubra has a cherry kool aid scent.
Thank you, now I now how a sarracenia leucophylla might smell like, and now I know what 'feline scent' is. :) I need to save money for a rubra now!!!
As for S. oreophila, I just added this plant to my collection, so I'll have to wait until spring to verify it's scent.
Congrats on your new plant, what kind is it the common one or 'Sand Mountain'? Let me know how it smells like when it blooms!
 
The oreophila is just the common one. I assume from AL since there is only 1 site in GA and 1 in NC. I'll let you know how it smells in the spring. Right now, its just a mass of phillodia
 
Nepenthes pitchers smell delicious. The flowers, not so much. Some drosera flowers are scented.
 
I have a S. purpurea x flava hybrid that has faintly scented pitchers. Pleasant smelling. flowers were pine smelling
 
  • #10
The flowers of Sarracenia flava smell horribly "feline," in other words akin to male cat pee. The nectar from most pitcher plants gives off a sweet scent, the flowers of Nepenthes can range from absolutely horrendous to sweet in some species, and the sweet pitchers of America (rubra subspecies) are named so because of their raspberry/rose smelling flowers. Among the Drosera I haven't had experience with many, so I can't say as to their smell, but there's probably a reason D. indica "Scented flower" got its name.
 
  • #11
I have one Heli clone whos pitchers sometimes are especially fragrant (very nice scent)..... and some others to a much lesser degree.
Havent really noticed any scent from their flowers.... There may be, I've just not noticed it.
 
  • #12
Of course many flowers have a noticable scent,
however as to whether they can smell, I would say definitely not!
They don't have any noses! :-D
 
  • #13
Drosera whittakeri blooms are open at night and fairly fragrant. White flowered and fragrant thinking moth pollinated. Need to see if the same could be said for D. rupicola
 
  • #14
Nepenthes flowers have a distinct "odor", immediately identifiable when you have half a dozen plants in bloom at once, and it is sunny and warm in the greenhouse.

+1 It's pretty hard to describe... they don't smell as bad as a rotting animal, just unpleasant. I don't think I've smelled anything like it. Gets worse when it's hot, and I'm lucky my plants are out in open air. :D
 
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