photo via U.S. Botanic Garden
From the U.S. Botanic Garden:
“Two corpse flowers (Amorphophallus titanum) are now on display, and it’s possible both will bloom around July 19-22! Conservatory hours July 8-Aug. 30 are shifted to 11 am – 6 pm.
About the two plants:
◦ Accession 2019-0033 is the fifth bloom of the seedlings USBG created via pollination in 2017.
◦ The seeds were sown in 2018, meaning the plant is about six years old. This is its first time blooming.
◦ Accession 2007-1033 has bloomed once before in 2016.
◦ In fall 2018, this plant was almost lost to rot in the corm. In 2020, the apex died, and a large number of sprouts came up — the tuber broke into 22 individuals. The largest 3 were chosen to recover the accession, and the USBG Horticulture team has retained one to keep this accession alive. It was planted in 2021, and this is its first bloom since then. This iteration of the plant is 4 years old.
The USBG has over 30 mature corpse flower plants. We are part of a collaborative conservation project with other botanic gardens across the U.S., with the intent to create a plan and system for intential breeding to increase genetic diversity in A. titanum collections in U.S. botanic gardens.
Learn more about the life cycle and chemistry of this plant at www.USBG.gov/CorpseFlower”