Deceiving beauties {Explored 16.03.2023} Thank you for views, comments and favs.
…but not for birds. These attractive scarlet seeds of the Stinking Iris (Iris foetidissima) last well through winter months. The berry-like fruits are poisonous for humans, but birds love them. It is called “stinking” for a beefy odour released from crushed green leaves that some people found quite unpleasant. Epithet ‘foetidissima’ made from ‘foetid-’ meaning ‘stinking’, and ‘-issima‘ meaning ‘to the greatest degree’ in Latin was given by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 who probably didn’t like the smell much. Primrose Hill Community Woodland. Bath, BANES, England, UK.
Deceiving beauties {Explored 16.03.2023} Thank you for views, comments and favs.
…but not for birds. These attractive scarlet seeds of the Stinking Iris (Iris foetidissima) last well through winter months. The berry-like fruits are poisonous for humans, but birds love them. It is called “stinking” for a beefy odour released from crushed green leaves that some people found quite unpleasant. Epithet ‘foetidissima’ made from ‘foetid-’ meaning ‘stinking’, and ‘-issima‘ meaning ‘to the greatest degree’ in Latin was given by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 who probably didn’t like the smell much. Primrose Hill Community Woodland. Bath, BANES, England, UK.