the World’s Rarest Bloomer: The Corpse Flower
October 13, 2021
The world is full of fascinating phenomena and there are endless sightings of diverse species of wildlife, but none is as captivating as the world’s rarest and shortest bloomer, the Corpse Flower.
Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus titanum)
Scientifically known as Amorphophallus titanum, the Corpse flower is a rare tropical flower found in the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia. It received its nickname from Indonesians who called the plant Bunga Bangkai, which means “Corpse Flower”.
Standing at 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide in diameter, this is one of the largest flowers and its blooming period occurs once every seven to 30 years and lasts from 24 to 36 hours.
The flower consists of the corm, a round base, the spadix, a yellow or brown column-like stem and the spathe, a petal-like outer covering that is green on the outside and red on the inside.
A Short Bloom
The blooming period of the Amorphophallus titanum is in two stages: the female and male stage. During the first stage of pollination, various insects enter the flower and drop pollen on the pink and orange female flowers which form a ring at the bottom of the spadix. In the second stage, as the plant starts to collapse, insects leave the flower and rub the pollen against the cream coloured male flowers who are just above the female ones and carry it off to another flower.
Seriously Smelly
the strong odour of rotting meat emitted from the plant comes from a cocktail of chemicals that are released to attract pollinators such as flesh flies and dung beetles that typically eat dead meat. Even the dark red colour and warm temperature of the flower at 37 degrees Celsius is meant to entice these insects to continue the species.
Come See the Corpse Flower Bloom
Want to see the Corpse Flower bloom yourself? The Royal Botanical Gardens is hosting a viewing of the beautiful and unique plant at a specialized exhibit from October 20th to October 21st starting at 2:00 pm. Visit our website for more details, become a member and book tickets at https://www.rbg.ca/plan-your-visit/admission/.
Learn More:
Bradford, A. (2017, May 31). Corpse Flower: Facts About the Smelly Plant. Livescience.Com. https://www.livescience.com/51947-corpse-flower-facts-about-the-smelly-plant.html.
Bryden, L. (2020, October 30). Supernatural Botany and Halloween. Royal Botanical Gardens. https://www.rbg.ca/supernatural-botany-and-halloween/.
Corpse Flower. (n.d.). The Huntington. https://www.huntington.org/corpse-flower.
titan arum | Description, Life Cycle, & Facts. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/plant/Titan-arum.
Wikipedia contributors. (2021, October 4). Amorphophallus titanum. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amorphophallus_titanum.
note:
royal botanical gardens is not affiliated with this blog post. all writing is mine.