Corpse Flower

Somehow, we seem to have missed this during its previous “blooms,” but tomorrow the Amorphophallus titanum, familiarly known as the corpse flower, will bloom at the New York Botanical Garden.

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about this strange plant:

Amorphophallus titanum, also known as the titan arum, is a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. The titan arum's inflorescence is not as large as that of the talipot palm, Corypha umbraculifera, but the inflorescence of the talipot palm is branched rather than unbranched. The species is endemic to Sumatra.

Due to its odor, which is like the smell of a rotting corpse or carcass, the titan arum is characterized as a carrion flower, and is also known as the corpse flower or corpse plant (Indonesian: bunga bangkai – bunga means flower, while bangkai can be translated as corpse, cadaver, or carrion). For the same reason, the title corpse flower is also attributed to the genus Rafflesia.

Due to the wonders of modern technology, we can watch this process without the bad smell from the comfort of our home offices, which sounds to me like a very good idea!

Enjoy!

Love,

Rebecca