Thursday, June 21, 2012

POTD - Titan Arum (Corpse flower)

Titan Arum (Corpse flower) by DisHippy
Titan Arum (Corpse flower), a photo by DisHippy on Flickr.

The unique Amorphophallus titanum, commonly known as Titan Arum or the “corpse flower,” is a large, fast-growing plant in the Aroid family. Few of these plants exist in cultivation, and they bloom only rarely and under just the right conditions. On the extremely infrequent occasion that a Titan Arum comes into flower, the intense, foul odor, emitted from a tall spike of small, crowded flowers, lasts just a few days.

This is the second corpse flower that we've had bloom at MOBOT this year. I missed the first one, so I was pretty determined to catch this one. I did find out though that these flowers only open all the way after dark. I got to the gardens as early as they would allow me and caught it as it was closing for the day, but I think I like it better this way. There is a wider range of color, and it didn't stink quite as much. Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!

1 comment:

Matt said...

As a gardener, I've always wanted to see one of these!