Ah, the elusive and mysterious Death Flower!  What is it, what does it do, and how do you get you some?

What Is The Death Flower?

The Death Flower can be picked from the Death Flower plant, which typically blooms once.  If you have a Death Flower in your inventory when you die, there is a very good chance that the Grim Reaper will decide not to take you, therefore giving you a second chance at life.

NOTE: many people confuse the Death Flower with the Death Fish.  The Death Fish is a key ingredient in Ambrosia, which makes you magically younger.  However, the Death Flower actually staves off the Grim Reaper directly.

How Does The Death Flower Work?

Put the Death Flower into your Sim's inventory.  (Sadly, the Death Flower won't work on a family-wide level if you put it into your shared family inventory.)  Then wait to die, it's as simple as that!

When Death comes for your Sim, your Sim will offer the Grim Reaper their Death Flower.  If Grim is pleased by this offering, he will spare your Sim's life.  Your Sim will be restored to life (as a real Sim, not just a ghost) just as if the death had never happened.  

NOTE: Some sources say the Death Flower will NOT work if your Sim dies of old age.  That has not been my experience.  Mandy (the Sim shown in the picture above) died of old age, but was restored by Grim in exchange for a Death Flower.

Where Do You Get A Death Flower?

If you just want one (maybe to have until you can finish growing your own) you can pick one from a Death Flower bush in the graveyard.  The graveyards in both Riverside and Sunset Valley have a Death Flower bush growing in public that you can harvest.  For both graveyards, walk in through the gate and turn right.  The Death Flower bush will be within a few steps of the gate.

In order to grow a Death Flower Plant, you need to have at least level 7 Gardening skill. The Death Flower is an "Unknown Special Seed."  Many of these seeds can be found scattered around the graveyards.  

You can also find the seeds during an exploration of the Catacombs, and they can be fished up if you have a high enough Fishing skill.  The best strategy is to collect and plant all the Unknown Special Seeds you can find.

When the Death Flower blooms, have your Sim pick the flower.  If you zoom in, you will see that the flower is creepy-looking, with a skull appearing in the actual bloom itself, and many disturbing tentacles.

Each Death Flower plant will bloom once, and die when the bloom has been picked.  However, if your Sim has the Green Thumb trait, they can try reviving the Death Flower plant.  You have about 50/50 odds at succeeding at this.  If the plant is revived, you will be able to pick a second flower.  It cannot be revived again.

Obviously you can also visit the graveyard, pick a Death Flower from the bush, and then plant that flower (if your Gardening skill is high enough).  Although this exposes your Sim to risk, while you wait for the Death Flower plant to grow and bloom again.  But it is a handy short cut, if you can't wait long enough to collect and plant all those seeds!