photo via U.S. Botanic Garden
Exciting news from the U.S. Botanic Garden:
“The corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum) opened last night! Standing 7’1”, this tall bloom still has some stink.
While peak stink would have been last night, you can still smell some this morning. The stinky scent is to attract pollinators like flies and carrion beetles. Native to Sumatra, it is listed as endangered in the wild, with less than 1,000 believed to exist in the wild. You can view this bloom today from 10 am – 5 pm. It should still stand for 2-3 days — probably through the weekend though the smell is just during the first 12-24 hours to attract pollinators – so today and this morning will be the times with smell to accompany this large inflorescence (the hundreds of male and female flowers are done at the base of the tall, central spadix). We’ll be open 10 am – 5 pm each day. No tickets required. Learn more at www.USBG.gov/CorpseFlower”