Giant, Smelly 'Corpse Flower' Blooms in Brazil

Titan arum blooms rarely and only briefly—and smells like rotting flesh
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 28, 2012 11:40 AM CST
Giant, Smelly 'Corpse Flower' Blooms in Brazil
Visitors look at a blooming titan arum at Djuanda Botanical Garden in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Another is now blooming Brazil.   (AP Photo/Kusumadireza)

Call them gangrene thumbs. Hundreds of flower lovers are flocking to Inhotim garden, 275 miles from Rio de Janeiro, to catch a glimpse—and a whiff— of the massive and rare titan arum, aka, the "corpse flower," reports AFP. Blooming for just three days, the corpse flower smells like rotting flesh, in order to attract its choice pollinators, carrion flies and beetles.

The titan arum's full scientific name, Amorphophallus titanum, actually means misshapen giant penis. The one blooming now in Brazil is 5-foot-3, but the plant can grow up to 10 feet tall. The species is native to western Sumatra and is thought to be the world's largest and smelliest tropical flower. You can also read about a corpse flower that bloomed at Western Illinois University a couple of years ago. (More titan arum stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X