Devil Lily for Dummies

Hey there! So, "Devil Lily" is actually the common name for a pretty spooky-looking plant called the Dracunculus vulgaris. It's also sometimes known as the Dragon Arum or the Black Arum. This plant gets its name because it has a really strong and unpleasant smell that some people think is kind of like the smell of a rotting corpse—that's pretty creepy, huh?

The "Devil Lily" plant has a tall, purple, or brown spadix, which is kind of like a central stalk with lots of tiny little flowers on it, and it's surrounded by a dark, purplish-brown spathe, which is like a big leaf. People think that the way this flower looks and smells is kind of mysterious and eerie, which is why it got the nickname "Devil Lily."

Now, when people refer to the "Devil Lily," they might also be talking about a completely different plant called the Dracunculus canariensis. This plant also has a really strong, bad smell, and it looks kind of similar to the Dracunculus vulgaris, but it's found in the Canary Islands. Sometimes people get these two plants mixed up because they're so alike, but they're actually different species.

So, "Devil Lily" is kind of like a spooky nickname for these really stinky plants that look a little bit like something you might find in a haunted forest or something. It's definitely not the kind of flower you'd want to bring home to put on your dinner table, that's for sure!

I hope that explanation helps you understand what "Devil Lily" means! Let me know if you have any more questions.