The corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum) bloom is standing tall and beautiful yesterday at the US Botanical Gardens . It began opening around 3:45 pm yesterday, and came into full, stinky bloom in the evening. Our visitors last night enjoyed the smell, describing it as “the stink at the bottom of the diaper barrel” and “a big trashbin on a hot summer day.” It smells strongest during the first 12-15 hours after opening (last night), as that is when the female flowers are open and receptive to pollen. Now it’s beginning to head towards the male flower stage. We’re open 11 am - 6 pm today and the rest of August.
This plant is the tallest unbranched inflorescence in the world. An inflorescence is a collection flowers all happening together — so it’s not just one single, large flower! Everything we see with the naked eye — that tall, central yellow spadix and the red outer spathe — is modified leaf tissue. The hundreds of actual flowers are hidden down at the base of that tall, central spadix. Look at the photos to see the flowers — the lower female (purple) flowers and upper male (yellow) flowers (these look a bit like corn.)
Native to Sumatra, Indonesia, they are rare plants with less than 1,000 in the wild. We have 3 dozen of them, working as part of a conservation project in collaboration with other botanic gardens.
Learn more about the life cycle, why and how they smell, our work on them, and more at www.USBG.gov/CorpseFlower
Meanwhile, here are Flowers Photos Taken by Phil Paris for your Viewing Pleasure
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