• Not all flowers smell sweet.Stapelienbl??te - stapelia flower image by Bettina Pressl from Fotolia.com
  
  Tropical regions can produce a wide range of plants. The temperature, sunlight and frequent rains have encouraged more life, which has also encouraged more competition and diversification. Out of this competition has emerged some very unusual plants. Some of these plants might be fun to bring into the home as an oddity, but others can really stink.
  
  

Air Plants

• Plants do not necessarily need soil. All they really need from the soil are nutrients and water. In some tropical areas, the rain is so frequent that some plants can survive simply from the water and nutrients that wash down the trunks of trees. These plants attach their roots to the bark of tropical trees. One air plant is the Tillandsia bartramii, a bromeliad, according to the University of Florida.
  
  

Sensitive Plant

• The Mimosa punica is a tropical Brazilian plant that does not like to be touched. When this plant is touched, it folds its leaves to avoid being eaten by animals, according to Texas A&M University.
  
  

Small Flowers

• The Wolffia angusta is the smallest flower in the world. The flower is as big as the sprinkles found on pastries, according to Palomar College. These plants are a part of the duckweed family and can be found floating in water.
  
  

Foul-Smelling Flowers

• Many plants rely on animals to pollinate them. Usually, these plants produce a sweet smell to attract bees, hummingbirds and various other pollinators. However, some produce a rotting meat smell that attracts flies. Flies lay their eggs in rotting meat so that their larvae have an immediate source of food. By landing on the stinky flowers, the bees collect the flower's pollen and carry it to other rotting-meat flowers. The Rafflesia arnoldii is one example of a stinky flower. The Rafflesia arnoldii is also the largest flower, according to the Library of Congress.
  
  

Strangler Plant

• We usually see plants as peaceful organisms, but there are some plants that will actually kill other plants. The Ficus aurea, also known as the strangler fig gradually grows and wraps itself around another plant, eventually strangling it, according to the University of Florida. Its seeds must be planted into another tree and germinate before the roots travel down to the ground.