Why do carrion flowers smell and look like rotting meat?

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A honeybee collects pollen from the yellow stamens of a pink and cream honeysuckle flower against a blurred green background. — Pollination Common carder bumblebee (*Bombus pascuorum*) pollinating a honeysuckle (*Lonicera* species) flower.

Carrion flowers mimic the appearance and scent of rotting meat or dung as an evolutionary strategy to attract specific pollinators, such as carrion flies and dung beetles.1

These insects naturally seek out decaying organic matter as ideal sites for egg deposition. By producing odors that replicate these substances, the plants deceive the insects into visiting the flowers. In some cases, such as with certain carrion flowers, the deception is so effective that blowflies will deposit their eggs directly onto the plant.1

This relationship is a form of mimicry that facilitates pollination. For example, the cuckoopint uses an elaborate mechanism to trap visiting insects, ensuring they remain long enough to deposit pollen before being released. By exploiting the insects' biological drive to locate carrion, these plants successfully ensure their reproductive success.1