Blooms Once Every 10 Years... Rare Flower Known for Corpse-Like Odor Blooms at US Botanical Garden

The World's Largest Flower... Blooms Once Every 7 to 10 Years
Attracts Flies with Corpse Smell for Reproduction... Endangered Rare Species

A wild plant flower, nicknamed the "corpse flower" because it emits a foul odor resembling rotting flesh, has bloomed in the United States. This plant's flower is known to bloom once every 7 to 10 years.

On the 28th of last month (local time), the AP reported that the flower of the "Amorphophallus Titanum" had bloomed at a tropical rainforest exhibit in a science academy located in San Francisco, California.

Titanum is a large plant that typically grows up to 2.4 meters tall, with the largest specimen recorded in the Guinness World Records reaching 3.1 meters in height. There are also records of its leaves growing up to 4 meters in size.

The Titanum stores nutrients for over 7 years before blooming, and its flowering lasts from a minimum of 24 hours to a maximum of 48 hours. At the peak of blooming, it emits a strong stench similar to that of a decomposing corpse.

Blooms Once Every 10 Years... Rare Flower Known for Corpse-Like Odor Blooms at US Botanical Garden

Amorphophallus titanum in the tropical rainforest of Sumatra Island, Indonesia [Image source=Yonhap News]

The reason Titanum emits such a foul odor is for reproduction. In its native habitat on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, carrion beetles, blowflies, and other carnivorous insects that feed on dead bodies are common, rather than bees or butterflies. Therefore, Titanum relies on these insects as its primary pollinators to transfer pollen to the stigma.

Lauren Craig, a horticulturist at the science academy, explained, "It emits a scent similar to that of a corpse to attract flies." The temperature of the flower also rises to about 36.7℃, similar to a decaying body, making it easier to deceive the insects.

Because the blooming period is less than two days and the flower blooms only once every 7 to 9 years, witnessing the Titanum in bloom is rare. For this reason, it becomes a worldwide sensation each time it blooms. In 2021, when the Titanum bloomed at the San Diego Botanic Garden in the United States, all admission tickets sold out immediately, attracting about 5,000 visitors over two days.

Due to these characteristics and the small number of specimens, seeing the Titanum bloom in the wild is even more difficult. The Titanum is classified as an endangered wild plant by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is reported that fewer than 1,000 remain in the wild.