Amorphophallus konjac

Also known as Devil's Tongue, Voodoo Lily, Snake Palm, Konnyaku Potato

Konjac emerges each spring from an enormous underground corm, either sending up a single umbrella-like leaf on a mottled stalk or producing a dramatic, deep-maroon inflorescence. The bloom produces a powerful odor of rotting meat, warming its spathe to vaporize volatile sulfur compounds that lure carrion-seeking blowflies and beetles for pollination. Widely cultivated across East and Southeast Asia, its dense corm yields glucomannan, a soluble dietary fiber transformed into traditional jellies and noodles through extensive alkaline processing.