If you’re dying to see a unique species of plant that can take decades to bloom, then you’re in luck: the Denver Botanic Gardens confirmed Tuesday that the corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum) housed there has finally started to officially blossom.
You’d probably better hurry, though. According to The Denver Post, while these unique and pungent-smelling plants can take upwards of 20 years to bloom for the first time and almost a decade to do so for a second time. Yet its massive bloom lasts less than 48 hours.
Members of the Botanic Gardens will be able to see (and smell) the flower Wednesday starting at 6am local time, while the general public will be admitted starting at 9am. Not only is this the first corpse flower to bloom at the facility, it is the first in the entire Rocky Mountain region, the paper noted. As such, visitors are being told to expect large crowds.
If you can’t make, though, check out the live stream, courtesy of KUSA:
So what’s so special about these corpse flowers?
Over the past 10 days or so, the Gardens have seen a record 30,000 visitors as people come to get an up-close peak at this unusual plant, The Washington Post said. It goes without saying that one of the main reasons why the corpse flower is so unusual is the rarity and short-lived nature of the blooms, but what else about this plant makes it stand out?
For one thing, the cluster of flowers on its stem (also known as its inflorescence) is very tall, and can reach heights of more than 10 feel, according to USA Today. Its leaf structure can reach sizes of 20 feet tall and 16 feet across, and each year the old leaf dies off and is replaced by a new one. Typically, they weigh approximately 110 pounds, with the largest topping 250 pounds.
The corpse flower is endemic to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where it grows in rainforests located on limestone hills. It is a member of the same family as the call lily, and it has an unusual fragrance that is said to resemble rotting meat, spoiled eggs, or day-old roadkill, said the newspaper. This allows it to attract beetles and flesh flies, which pollinate the flower.
Corpse flowers are currently listed as a vulnerable species, and there are roughly 100 cultivated corpse flowers currently housed at botanical gardens around the world.
The official name of the plant is one of the most unique and hilarious in all of taxonomy, as USA Today noted. Amorphophallus titanum, roughly translated, means “misshapen, giant penis”.
—–
Feature Image: The Huntington/YouTube
Comments