What is the Corpse Flower?

Have you ever heard of the Corpse Flower? While it sounds a bit scary, the bloom is completely harmless to humans, and has actually fascinated plant-enthusiasts for more than a century. The scientific name for the Corpse Flower is Amorphophallus titanum. It is also sometimes called the titan arum, which is a fitting title because this flower is one of the largest in the world--a real titan! Read on to learn the many interesting and fun facts that make the Corpse Flower the subject of many garden exhibitions throughout the world each year.

Discovery of the Corpse Flower

The Corpse Flower was first written about in western culture in 1878 when Italian botanist, Odoardo Beccari, took a trip to central Sumatra. Sumatra, Indonesia is the only location in the world where the Corpse Flower is found in the wild. It grows in the rainforest climate on limestone hills. Beccari immediately sent drawings and information on this stunningly large flower to horticulture publications. Although Beccari brought this flower to the attention of Europeans, indigenous Sumatran tribes had known of its existence long before, and acted as guides to Beccari. Beccari was able to produce an exhibit in 1885 where the illusive flower bloomed for 3 days. Once people saw how interesting and rare the bloom was, horticulturists and the public were hooked on this variety.

Appearance

One of the things that make titan arum so interesting is its appearance. First of all, the plant’s leaf is very large, growing up to 20 feet tall. The resulting blossom can then reach between 9-10 feet in height, making it the largest flower in the world. The corm, which is like an underground root of the plant, has been known to weigh between 100-200 pounds.

The colors and shape of this large plant are also striking. The flower has a trumpet-shaped appearance that is dark green on the outside and deep burgundy on the inside. It is textured with deep furrows. Extending out from the trumpet is a large spadix, which has a long thin oval shape. You may be familiar with the spadix on a peace lily or calla lily, which is actually a relative of the Corpse Flower. The male and female flowers that cause reproduction are located at the base of the spadix.

A Clever Pollinator

The most well-known quality of the Corpse Flower is probably its smell. The rancid fragrance is what earned this giant bloom its name. While people generally consider the flower to smell like a corpse or carrion, scientists have actually been able to chemically pinpoint the exact odors that it contains including:

• Limburger cheese
• Garlic
• Rotting fish
• Sweaty socks
• Sweet floral scent
• Feces

Wow, that is quite a combination of smells! But as with most things in nature, there is a reason that titan arum smells like it hasn’t had a bath in a year: the flower uses this feature to ensure pollination. The smell gradually increases in the evening until it reaches its peak overnight. That’s when carrion beetles and flesh flies are attracted to the plant. The bugs become covered in pollen and spread it between the male and female parts of titan arum. The smell then decreases in the daytime, and the disappointed insects leave without actually getting any meat.

The odor isn’t the Corpse Flower’s only clever pollination tactic, though. The dark red color of the plant makes it look like the same color as the meat. Additionally, the tip of the spadix heats up to the temperature of the human body when blooming, allowing the scent to volatilize, or spread further into the air. This plant has mastered the technique to ensure pollination.

Although the Corpse Flower is pretty good at achieving pollination, seeing a bloom is extremely rare. It requires 7-10 years of vegetative growth before the plant can even bloom, and a typical bloom might last for 3 days. Some plants will then grow for another 7-10 years without blooming, but there is wide variation on just when titan arum will go through a bloom cycle again. Because this flower is so unique and fascinating, it has traveled far from its roots in central Sumatra. It is now grown in botanical gardens and private gardens throughout the world. It is still relatively difficult to grow, but horticulturalists have managed to arrange about 5 bloomings per year throughout the world. The world will continue to be intrigued by the stinkiest bloom out there!

This article was published by Chad Kremp