A special exhibition titled "Plants That Are Gross, Smelly, or Scary" is currently underway at the Kyoto Botanical Gardens in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City. The exhibit showcases—through actual specimens and photographs—about 40 plant species, including those that bear fruit resembling "Myaku-Myaku" (the official mascot of the Osaka-Kansai Expo) or possess foul-smelling leaves. It explains the survival-driven reasons behind these peculiar characteristics.

Guarana, which became a hot topic because its red berries look just like "Myaku-Myaku."

The exhibition is held on the first floor of the Botanical Garden Hall. Among the potted plants on display is *Paullinia cupana* (guarana), native to South America and used as an ingredient in a popular carbonated soft drink from Hokkaido. A photograph shows the plant laden with ripe fruit, where black seeds peek out from within red skins; the appearance, resembling a cluster of eyeballs, is reminiscent of Myaku-Myaku.

The venue features plants with peculiar ecological traits, such as *Myrmecodia tuberosa* (left), which houses ants inside itself.

Also featured is *Cylindropuntia imbricata* (often called "Tree Cholla" or *Shoran* in Japanese), a cactus from the U.S. and Mexico; its sharp spines have tiny barbs that make them difficult to remove once they pierce the skin. The stem segments break off easily, attaching themselves to animals and taking root wherever they eventually fall. The exhibit also includes plants with pungent odors—such as *Ferula assa-foetida* (asafoetida), which smells like a mix of garlic, durian, and sulfur. These odors are released when leaves are eaten by pests, serving a defensive purpose by alerting other insects—predators of the pests—to their presence.

The Kyoto Botanical Gardens hopes visitors will "learn the reasons behind these plants' unsettling appearances."

The exhibition runs until August 23, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission to the gardens is required. Some exhibits will be rotated during the event period.