Just when you thought your finicky houseplant was having a tough time, get a load of these exquisitely strange and unique plants that seem to have teleported straight from an extraterrestrial landscape. From hues that defy earthly norms to shapes that boggle the botanical brain, these plants challenge our understanding of what’s possible in the world of flora and tickle our imaginations. If you’ve ever wished to cultivate a garden suitable for a sci-fi blockbuster, your dream roster awaits. Don’t be too surprised if E.T. decides to pop in for a visit.
1. “This Was Supposed To Be A Plant Progress Post Showing Off My Oxalis But Henk Stole The Show”
2. “This Is A Flame Lily, The National Flower Of Zimbabwe”
3. “Lithops Genus Of Succulent Plants Whose Rocklike Appearance Serves As Camouflage From Herbivores”
4. “My Echeveria Showing Me Some Love With Its Blooms”
5. “The Black Velvet, The World Blackest Black Flower. It Was Developed In 2010 Using Natural Breeding”
6. “Buds Of A Hoya Wax Flower”
7. “The Plant Crotalaria Cunninghamii Mimics Birds”
8. “This Strange Plant We Found”
9. “This Extremely Long Plant In My Flat. It’s 4 Floors Long”
10. “Finally Got To Taste A Monstera Fruit! If You’re Wondering, To Me It Tastes Like Banana, Pineapple And Strawberry Combined”
11. “Strange Round ‘Fruit’ With Stringy Latexy Insides”
12. “My House Plant Looks Like It Came Straight From The Alien Franchise”
13. “My Peperomia Letting Me Know She Appreciated The Love I Gave Her”
14. “Super Cool Flower In Mom’s Garden. Lost The Tag. Any Thoughts On What This Is?”
15. “Incredibly Unexpected Outcome From A $2 Succulent From The Local Grocery Store”
16. “Burro’s Tail Balcony”
17. “Flirty Fritillaries And Those Cheeky Checkered Petals. These Amazing Flowers Are Actually A Close Relation To Lilies That Are Growing Wild”
18. “I Found A Baby Albino Oak In My Garden Some Years Ago, And Realized That Plants Can Be Albinos Too, But They Do Not Live Long Since They Cannot Photosynthesize”
19. “Lapidaria Margaretae Looks Like Stones”
20. “My Cactus Has Grown A Strange-Looking Flower”
21. “Once A Year, For One Night Only… The Flowers Bloom”
22. “This Plant That Has Exactly Two Branches At Each Node”
23. “The Way This Plant Flowers”
24. “Venus Fly Traps Have To Put Their Flowers Really Far Away From Their Traps So They Don’t Accidentally Kill Their Pollinators”
25. “The Rare Purple Cauliflower. Its Signature Color Comes From The Same Antioxidant Found In Red Cabbage And Red Wine: Anthocyanin”
26. “I Have No Idea, But The Leaves Are Looking Awesome”
27. “Trachyandra Tortilis”
28. “My Cactus Just Bloomed, And Its Flower Looks Like A Demogorgon”
29. “The Inside Of This Tropical Pitcher Plant Looks Like A QR Code”
30. “These Flowers That Are Almost Too Vibrant To Be Real”
31. “Happy Earth Day. The Craziest Flower I’ve Ever Seen. This Comes Out Of The Dirt. Let’s Protect This Crazy Alien Flower”
32. “My White Princess Philodendron Finally Threw Out A Pink Leaf”
33. “Dracula Simia. The Flowers Of This Andean Orchid Look Like Monkey Faces”
34. “Desert Devil (Welwitschia Mirabilis)”
35. “This Variegated Rubber Plant Looks Like It’s Straight From The Eighties”
36. “Apparently, A Species Of Guarana Plant Looks Like A Large Cluster Of Eyeballs”
37. “Strange Plant With Very Cool Berries And Seeds”
38. “This Is What A Witch Hazel Flower Looks Like”
39. “A Snake Plant With 0% Chlorophyll”
40. “Zingiber Spectabile (Beehive Ginger) Is A Species Of True Ginger, Native To Maritime Southeast Asia”
41. “Leaf Appreciation Post”
42. “Plant In Our Office Is 4 Stories Tall”
43. “Down By The Lake, There’re These Weird Flowers Made Up Of Hundreds Of Tinier Flowers”
When he's not doomscrolling Twitter or writing for Pleated-Jeans, Nate Armbruster writes jokes—and then tells them on stage as a stand-up comedian, where he can watch audiences (hopefully) laugh in real-time.