7 Bizarre Flowers You’re Lucky You’ll Never Come Across

Published July 5, 2016
Updated November 9, 2023

Unique Flowers: Living Stones

Lithops Red

yellowcloud/Flickr

Both the world’s most common and most unique flowers are often seen as delicate; too little or too much water can be life or death for more sensitive blooms.

For the Lithops genus, however, water is only an option. These strange flowers are often referred to as “living stones” due to the stone-like structures from which daisy-like flowers can sprout.

Since this plant ordinarily makes its home in southern Africa’s arid climate, these unique flowers have evolved to be virtually drought-proof; this makes them ideal for an amateur gardener who just can’t seem to keep their plants alive.

Beehive Ginger

Beehive Ginger

Suzanne Cadwell/Flickr

Easily considered to be one of the most unique flowers the world has to offer, the beehive ginger looks more like a pinecone than a flower.

Much like its name suggests, this flower is a relative of the ginger family, a fact that’s most apparent when it perfumes the air with its sweet gingery scent. The flowers themselves are very tiny, blooming between the little honeycombs or “bracts,” and are often said to resemble white honeybees.

While the actual flowers are tiny, the full beehive ginger plant can grow to be an astounding six feet tall and is coveted due to the fact that the flower and honeycombs remain fresh and colorful days after being cut.


Enjoy these unique flowers? Next, check out some of the world’s largest and smelliest flowers. Then, have a look at some most gorgeous photos of spring flowers around the world.

author
John Kuroski
author
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.
editor
Savannah Cox
editor
Savannah Cox holds a Master's in International Affairs from The New School as well as a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and now serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of Sheffield. Her work as a writer has also appeared on DNAinfo.