Dragon Lily, Dracunculus vulgaris

AKA Dragon Arum, Black Arum, Voodoo Lily, Snake Lily, Stink Lily, the Black Dragon, the Black Lily and Dragonwort.

Three patches of this plant bloomed at McClellan Ranch in early June, 2011. They are not natives -- they were probably part
of an early garden in the area. Presumably these are perennial -- I do not know if they are capable of propagating locally.

The plant is in the Araceae family, which includes philodendrons and arums. The central black organ is a "spathe." The base of
the spathe has separate male and female flowers; this part is called the "spadix" and is responsible for the pungent odor.

The plants are fetid and attract a number of insects. I found three species of beetles which I had never seen before, plus
several different flies crawling on the flowers. They are capable of trapping insects, even though they do not use them for food.