• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.
At one time, these corpse-flowers were an extreme rarity. I think Attenborough had to go into a jungle to find one about twenty years back. Now the stinky triffids seem to be happy to bloom in captivity all over the place.

Morphic resonance?
 
Two giant, rare 'corpse' flowers bloom in Chicago
June 3, 2017

It is unusual enough to see one of nature's biggest, rarest—not to mention smelliest—flowers bloom. But it is extraordinary to see two bloom at once.

That is why two seven-foot-tall corpse flowers at the Chicago Botanic Garden have attracted thousands of visitors this week, despite the smell of rotting flesh that the flowers emit to attract pollinating beetles and flies.

The rare flowers, officially called titan arum, are naturally occurring in just one place on Earth—the Indonesian island of Sumatra. They are threatened by deforestation, and botanic gardens around the world are cultivating and preserving them.



Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-06-giant-rare-corpse-bloom-chicago.html#jCp
 
Here's the latest blooming in California. I'm posting primarily to have the excuse FOR finally posting a pic here on the board ...

800.jpeg

Stinky ‘corpse flower’ in full bloom in California
Visitors were flocking to the Huntington Library in Southern California on Friday to get a whiff of a so-called corpse flower, known for the rotten stench it releases when it blooms.

The flower, nicknamed “Stink,” began blooming unexpectedly on Thursday night, Huntington spokeswoman Lisa Blackburn said.

“We thought we had a few more days to go. But it was ready, and it was pretty spectacular,” she said. “The great thing about these flowers is they’re so unusual-looking and have this reputation for smelling really bad. It gets all kinds of people really interested in botanical science. It’s just a charismatic plant.”


Corpse flowers typically take 15 years to reach a mature blooming size, and blooms usually only last 24 hours.

The foul odor the plants emit attracts insects for pollination. The plants don’t emit the foul odor until they bloom.

“It smelled like rotting meat or decaying rats or gym socks,” said Brandon Tam, an orchid specialist at the Huntington.

The scent decreased on Friday afternoon as the flower started to close back up. “But if you are close enough, you’ll be able to get a little whiff of it,” Tam said.

“Stink” is the sixth corpse flower to bloom at the institution in suburban San Marino. The last was on Aug. 23, 2014. ...

FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/c195efee8bd44f8d...y-'corpse-flower'-in-full-bloom-in-California
 
https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman....blossom-for-third-time-in-edinburgh-1-4949548

World’s smelliest plant to blossom for third time in Edinburgh
image.jpg


The world’s most pungent plant is set to burst into bloom for the third time in Scotland

Amorphophallus titanum, also known as the corpse flower, is a rare and endangered specimen currently grown in the tropical glasshouse at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh which has only flowered twice previously, in 2015 and 2017.

The plant gets its name from the stench of rotting flesh it emits while it is in full bloom, intended to attract pollinators which feed on dead wild animals or lay their eggs in rotting meat.

The stench has also been described as smelling strongly of cheese, rotting fish, sweaty socks and faeces.

Experts calculate that it will flower at the end of June for around a week, with the first few days being the most pungent.

Bringing it to the point of flowering has involved the glasshouse team replicating the conditions it would experience in its native country. In the wild it grows only in the Bukit Barisan range of mountains in West Sumatra where the climate is very humid and hot.

The plant was gifted to Scotland in 2003 in the form of a corm which was the size of an orange. When it was most recently measured in 2010 it weighed 153.9kg, making it the largest ever recorded.

It recently started growing at a rate of around 14cm per day, and now stands at nearly two metres tall.

Before producing its first flower in 2015, it had to be nurtured for 12 years at in the tropical greenhouse at the Royal Botanic Garden.

On the two previous occasions that the plant has bloomed, thousands of visitors have flocked to experience the smell before it subsided and the plant drooped.

Louise Galloway, Glasshouse Supervisor, said: “The Amorphophallus titanum can be difficult to grow to flowering stage and they usually take about seven to ten years to reach maturity.

“Often after flowering and setting seed in the wild the plant’s energy is exhausted and it dies.

“We have been very lucky to have a stable corm, which has produced a consistent flower every two years since maturing.”

The initial bloom is expected to occur at night and give off the strongest smell when it first opens.

Plans are already being formed to allow members of the public access late at night to experience “peak pungency”.

Dr Mark Hughes, RBGE Tropical Botanist, said: “Its flowering here at RBGE for the third time symbolises our long-term commitment to the research and conservation efforts in that region.”

While the Latin name literally translates as “giant misshapen penis”, the more commonly known name “titan arum” was developed by Sir David Attenborough while filming The Private Life of Plants, as the Latin name was thought inappropriate for a BBC audience.

In 2018 the plant species was classified as endangered due to habitat loss.
 
Two corpse flowers will bloom soon at the Temple University Ambler Campus outside Philadelphia.
Giant Stinky Corpse Flowers Are Incredibly Rare. Two Are About to Bloom Near Philly

The Temple University Ambler Campus Greenhouse and Ambler Arboretum, just outside of Philadelphia, is waiting for not one but two corpse flowers to bloom. The odds of both flowering at the same time are pretty low, but getting to see even one is bucket-list-worthy.

The corpse flower is a showstopper in the botanical world. Its Latin name, Amorphophallus titanum, means “large misshapen penis,” and it’s also called the titan arum. Found in the wild only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the endangered plant can reach seven feet tall, with leaves that fan out 12 feet and a tuber that can weigh 150 pounds, according to the Ambler Campus Greenhouse. It also has the largest “unbranched inflorescence,” or flowering part of the plant, in the world. ...

To see the them in person in all their stinky glory, visitors must register online for timed entry and follow Temple’s COVID-19 guidelines. Registration information will be posted on the Ambler Campus’s Corpse Flower Central page as well as on its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts once the larger flower blooms. Only two days of visitation are anticipated. ...
FULL STORY:
https://www.phillymag.com/things-to-do/2021/05/15/corpse-flowers-temple-ambler/

CORPSE FLOWER CENTRAL (Temple University webpage):
https://ambler.temple.edu/research/corpse-flower-central
 
Meanwhile, in the San Francisco area ... An Alameda nursery owner who specializes in rare plants took his blooming corpse flower to a public spot so that townsfolk could come see it. He estimates over a thousand people came to see it up close.
Hundreds in California line up for blooming ‘corpse flower’

Residents of a San Francisco Bay Area city flocked to an abandoned gas station to get a whiff of a corpse flower — so-called because of the stench it emits when it blooms — after its owner decided to share the rare plant with his neighbors.

Solomon Leyva, a nursery owner in Alameda who deals in exceptionally rare plants, had been posting on social media about his amorphophallus titanum. When he saw a lot of interest in the giant blooming flower, he decided to wheel it Monday to the abandoned building, where a line of people stretched down the block for most of the day ...

Leyva relaxed in a camping chair at the old Art Deco gas station and patiently answered the same questions again and again. He estimated that by 4 p.m., at least 1,200 residents had visited the flower.

“Everyone is commenting to me that the last time they’ve seen this was in San Francisco, and there was a barrier, and they had to wait for hours, and they weren’t allowed to get near it,” Leyva said. “I think everyone’s tripping out that they can walk up and wiggle it and smell it.” ...
FULL STORY (With Photo of Flower and Crowd Queue):
https://apnews.com/article/ca-state...ers-oddities-e3095d7226d7f640dfd1df75d93d07bb
 
The most recent corpse flower blooming was in Warsaw.
Endangered corpse flower blooms in Warsaw, drawing crowds

The endangered Sumatran Titan arum, a giant foul-smelling blossom also known as the corpse flower, went into a rare, short bloom at a botanical garden in Warsaw, drawing crowds who waited for hours to see it.

The extraordinary flower, which emits a dead-body odor to attract pollinating insects that feed on flesh, bloomed Sunday. It was already withering early Monday. Those wishing to avoid the smell and crowds could watch it on live video from the Warsaw University Botanical Gardens.

Hundreds, if not thousands, lined up long into the night Sunday and Monday morning at the conservatory just to be able to pass by the flower and take a picture. ...
FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/article/europe-w...wers-flowers-95d51a90a0ac2bbc05b309b5b4fd022e
 
The latest corpse flower blooming event was this week in San Diego.
Giant ‘corpse plant’ draws crowds in Southern California

The bloom of a giant and stinky Sumatran flower nicknamed the “corpse plant” because it smells like a dead body is drawing huge crowds to a Southern California botanical garden.

The bloom of the Amorphophallus titanum plant began Sunday afternoon at the San Diego Botanic Gardens in Encinitas. By Monday morning, timed-entry tickets had sold out ...

More than 5,000 people were expected to visit the garden by Tuesday evening. ...

The blooming flower’s “rotting corpse smell that was so thick and heavy you could cut it with a knife,” said John Connors, horticulture manager for the San Diego Botanic Gardens.
SOURCE: https://apnews.com/article/lifestyl...owers-plants-4e49600f0d1a8bd5fc204e4dac4cac70
 
Washington State University's first corpse flower has bloomed for the first time, and the 17 years it took to generate this first bloom is considered notably quick.
Washington State University's smelly corpse flower blooms for the first time

Washington State University announced its corpse flower ... bloomed for the first time on the school's Vancouver campus.

The plant, known scientifically as Titan arum, started its brief bloom this week and the school shared time-lapse video of the plant's opening. ...

The university's flower, dubbed Titan VanCoug, was planed by Associate Professor of Molecular Biosciences Steve Sylvester in 2002 using a seed from the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Titan arum plant, which is known as Big Bucky.

The school said this week's bloom was the first for Titan VanCoug. The plants famously take years for their first bloom, but officials said the 17-year time period for Washington State's plant was likely due to its corm cloning itself, causing it to have up to four leaves at a time instead of the standard one leaf. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2022/0...ersity-Vancouver-corpse-flower/7901660842589/
 
Here's the time-lapse video of the WSU corpse flower's blooming ...

 
My brother tends a garden in Northchurch (Herts) that has a lot of "stink-lillies" present. From the description these would be tall spiked Arums with an incredible smell. Marvellous if you want low-altitude red Kites endlessly circling your house.
 
My brother tends a garden in Northchurch (Herts) that has a lot of "stink-lillies" present. From the description these would be tall spiked Arums with an incredible smell. Marvellous if you want low-altitude red Kites endlessly circling your house.

any chance you could find out the exact one, in case it would be hardy in Glasgow? I may have need of something like this.

edit to add: a pint of whatever behind the bar for the person who guesses what I need them for!
 
Last edited:
Back
Top