{"id":251,"date":"2012-07-02T12:49:51","date_gmt":"2012-07-02T16:49:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.massaudubon.org\/blogs\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=251"},"modified":"2015-02-12T14:32:06","modified_gmt":"2015-02-12T19:32:06","slug":"the-smelly-side-of-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/the-smelly-side-of-nature\/","title":{"rendered":"The Smelly Side of Nature"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you were one of the many people captivated by the rare titan arum a.k.a. corpse flower that recently bloomed at the Franklin Park Zoo<\/a>, but didn\u2019t get a chance to see it (or smell it for that matter), don\u2019t fret. While it will be some time till \u201cMorticia\u201d blooms again, you may be able to discover an insect-attracting stinky species while exploring the outdoors in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, you may have to wait until next spring to sniff all but one of these out as many have already bloomed.<\/p>\n


\n\"\"<\/a><\/strong>Stinkhorns<\/strong> are a variety of strikingly-shaped mushrooms that have a sticky, spore-bearing coating that smells like rotting meat. The attracted flies get the spores on their feet and \u201cplant\u201d them elsewhere. In Massachusetts, you can typically find ones like the \u201cStinky Squid\u201d during summer and fall.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A member of the lily family, Red (Purple) Trillium<\/strong> gives off an odor reminiscent of a wet-dog, earning it the nickname of, you guessed it, \u201cwet dog trillium.\u201d This spring bloomer is also known as Stinking Benjamin and Wake-robin (since it appears about the time people first notice robins in the spring).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Skunk Cabbage<\/strong> is pollinated by flies in the early spring. It\u2019s also capable of generating its own heat, thereby enabling its very early emergence in the spring.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Dutchman\u2019s Pipe<\/strong> is a type of Pipevine used locally as an ornamental vine. The \u201cpipe\u201d shields the flowers, which gives off a strong odor in mid- to late-spring that attracts flies that are then trapped inside by special hairs; once the fly gets covered with pollen the hairs wither and let the fly escape.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>When it blooms in the spring,\u00a0Jack-in-the-Pulpit<\/strong> gives off the odor of mushrooms and attracts fungus gnats for pollination.<\/p>\n

Photo Credits from Top: Noah Siegel\/Wikimedia Commons; USDA Forest Service; Sue Sweeney\/Wikimedia Commons;\u00a0Ondrej Zicha\/www.biolib.cz;\u00a0Ivo Shandor\/Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you were one of the many people captivated by the rare titan arum a.k.a. corpse flower that recently bloomed at the Franklin Park Zoo, but didn\u2019t get a chance to see it (or smell it for that matter), don\u2019t fret. While it will be some time till \u201cMorticia\u201d blooms again, you may be able […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nature-notes"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-43","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2350,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/the-story-behind-bee-swarms\/","url_meta":{"origin":251,"position":0},"title":"The Story Behind Bee Swarms","author":"Hillary T.","date":"June 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"You may have seen the photo of a swarm of honey bees on a car in Dorchester back in early May and wondered what was going on. The short story: the bees were looking for a new home. But why did they need a new home and what should you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/06\/beeswarm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5338,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/who-made-that-hole\/","url_meta":{"origin":251,"position":1},"title":"Who Made That Hole?","author":"Rosemary","date":"May 20, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"As you stop to admire the new leaves on a tree this spring, you may notice holes carved in trunks and branches. Who made these cavities, and why? Smaller pits may be the work of insects, but most of the larger holes\u00a0were created by woodpeckers, either for feeding or nesting.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/pileatednest.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/pileatednest.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/pileatednest.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11579,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-nature-kids\/","url_meta":{"origin":251,"position":2},"title":"Take 5: Nature Kids","author":"Ryan D.","date":"September 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Here at Mass Audubon, we're all about growing, nurturing, and inspiring nature heroes at every age but we think kids are particularly inspiring. Their unencumbered curiosity for everything they find, their joyful exuberance for exploring the outdoors, and\u2014perhaps most importantly\u2014their innate gift for imagining an ideal world unencumbered by cynicism\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Take 5"","block_context":{"text":"Take 5","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/take-5\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/08\/1421LisaRoberts4823-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/08\/1421LisaRoberts4823-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/08\/1421LisaRoberts4823-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/08\/1421LisaRoberts4823-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12088,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/when-nature-heroes-come-together\/","url_meta":{"origin":251,"position":3},"title":"When Nature Heroes Come Together","author":"Hillary T.","date":"December 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"When nature heroes come together, what they can accomplish is simply amazing. They can fight for and get environmental legislation passed. They can protect at-risk wildlife and the habitats they rely on. They can encourage young kids to connect with nature and enable college students to pursue careers in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/12\/1546_MAAudubon_0741.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/12\/1546_MAAudubon_0741.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/12\/1546_MAAudubon_0741.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/12\/1546_MAAudubon_0741.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9832,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/in-your-words-patricia-spence\/","url_meta":{"origin":251,"position":4},"title":"In Your Words: Patricia Spence","author":"Ryan D.","date":"September 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"In Your Words is a regular feature of Mass Audubon\u2019s Explore member newsletter. Each issue, a Mass Audubon member, volunteer, staff member, or supporter shares his or her story\u2014why Mass Audubon and protecting the nature of Massachusetts matters to them. 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Indeed, our look has changed over the past few months. Most notably, the images in our communications\u00a0feature more people engaging with the natural world and each other.\u00a0Our\u00a0emerging theme, to inspire\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/09\/nest600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/09\/nest600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/09\/nest600.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4819,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions\/4819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}