What is the Hydnora Africana?

Hydnora Africana is native to southern Africa. It has no chlorophyll. Instead of wasting energy on producing its own food, Hydnora Africana has resorted to parasitism. It is a root parasite on members of the family Euphorbiaceae. The flower is all you will ever see of this plant. The strange, scaly structure emerges from the ground underneath its host. Three slits begin to form, each lined with white, hair-like structures. At first, these structures remain intact. It taps into the roots of a host plant using specialized structures called “haustoria.” In this way, they are able to gather all their nutritional needs from their host. Once Hydnora Africana has obtained enough energy it will produce a flower. The spaces between are just big enough to allow entry of pollinators, which in this case are dung beetles. Once the flower opens these slits it begins to produce some heat, not unlike what we see in many arums. The heat helps to spread the scent. The smell is what you would expect from a plant trying to attract dung beetles. It smells like feces.

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