Fri, Jun 12, 2009
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Image: Martin_Heigan
The biodiversity on this planet is just astounding. Even with loss of habitat and the threat to flora and fauna, there is still so much to uncover and appreciate. Here we’ve gathered just a few interesting specimens of plants and fungi for you to discover. Some are more common while others are super strange, and to make things even more interesting for you, they all resemble animals and human body parts. Enjoy!
Mushroom Zombie Hand
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Image: ORIMATH
This mushroom – thought to be a specimen of Clathrus archeri, or “Devil’s Fingers” – takes the cake for being the strangest and creepiest specimen of a fungus looking like something else. It looks like a cold, dead hand reaching out to pull the rest of the zombie body out of the earth. Those even look like tattered sleeves down by the wrists of the hands!
Buddha’s Hand
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Image: kaldari
This yellow fruit is named Buddha’s hand because its fruit is divided into what look like many, many fingers of a hand. This particular image makes it look like a big mop of clown hair and could even be reminiscent of Medusa’s snake-y locks. Found in Asia, the Buddha’s Hand has a thick peel and little flesh. It is used by the Japanese and Chinese to scent rooms because of its strong citrus smell; in Western cooking, it’s prized for its zest.
Starfish Out of Water
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Image: Martin_Heigan
Endemic to Namibia, the Stapelia flavopurpurea flower looks like a bright starfish with a strange protrusion coming out of its middle. Most members of the Stapelia genus of flowers smell like rotting meat to attract pollinators, with the Stapelia flavopurpurea standing as the exception with its beeswax scent.
Eyeballs
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Image: quinn.anya
This plant looks pretty creepy, almost alien-like, with what look like multiple eyes poking out and staring every which way.
Jaws
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Image: petrichor
These jaws look pretty intimidating to us alright! The name, Faucaria tigrina, is derived from the Latin word fauces meaning animal mouth and tigrina meaning tiger. No wonder it’s nicknamed “Tigers Jaws”!
Cactus Brain
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Image: .Robert.
Aside from its hairy greenness, this cactus looks very much like a human brain.
Happy Face
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Image: Martin_Heigan
Sometimes timing is everything. The photographer of this great shot found the sun hitting this Ceropegia monteroiae flower just so, to create a smiling face with eyes slightly shaded by what look like long, lovely lashes.
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June 17th, 2009 at 4:51 am
That first/last one is just begging for a lolcat “Oh hai!” caption.
June 24th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
the mushroom hand is freaky.
June 28th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
The one with the eyes is called Guarana Fruit.
July 21st, 2009 at 1:51 am
The cactus brain is creepy.