Corpse Flower
For the first time at The Huntington, we have both the flowering (left) and fruiting (right) stages of the Amorphophallus titanum on display.
Daily Growth Updates
| Date | Height | Increase |
|---|---|---|
| 7/10 | 41.0" | |
| 7/11 | 47.5" | + 6.5" |
| 7/12 | 53.5" | + 6.0" |
| 7/13 | 59.0" | + 5.5" |
| 7/14 | 65.5" | + 6.5" |
| 7/15 | 71.0" | + 5.5" |
The World’s Largest Flower
The Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum) has been referred to as the "world's largest flower", but it's actually an inflorescence that can grow to more than 8 feet in height and 4 feet in diameter. At the peak of its growth, the Titan Arum can grow up to 6 inches a day! It is a rare tropical plant native to the equatorial rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia.
Corpse Flower
When in flower, it exudes a foul stench that smells like rotting meat. For that reason, Indonesians call it Bunga Bangkai, which means “Corpse Flower.” The plant grows from a large corm, a bulb-like tuber, under the soil. The visible parts are the spadix (the fleshy upright column) and the spathe (the petal-like outer covering).
Why Does It Smell?
When the plant blooms, the spathe opens to reveal a velvety maroon interior and begins to emit a foul stench, earning it the nickname “Stinky Plant.” Though everyone smells something different, the scent is made up of several different compounds: primarily dimethyl trisulfide (stinky cheese or boiled cabbage) and dimethyl disulfide (garlic), but also levels of trimethylamine (rotting fish), isovaleric acid (sweaty socks), benzyl alcohol (sweet flowery scent), and indole. The purpose of the putrid stench? To attract nighttime pollinators like flesh flies, carrion beetles, and sweat bees.
Where Does It Grow?
The Corpse Flower, or Titan Arum, is native to the rainforests of western Sumatra, Indonesia, where it grows on limestone hills at low elevations, in forest openings where there is enough light and space to produce its massive leaf and inflorescence, or flower-bearing structure. The climate is warm and rainy, with little variance throughout the year. Although it is one of the most famous plants in the world, little is known of its natural history.
When Will It Bloom?
Nobody can predict when a Corpse Flower will bloom. A Titan Arum in bloom is as rare as it is spectacular. A plant can go for many years without flowering. When the corm comes out of dormancy and a bud emerges, it will either develop into a flower or a new leaf; it’s when we see the tip of the emerging spadix that we know a bloom will occur. Being in the right place at the right time to see one of these magnificent plants in bloom can be a once-in-a-lifetime treat!
From Jungle to Greenhouse
The Corpse Flower was first made known to the outside world by Italian botanist and explorer Odoardo Beccari in 1878. Seeds and corms brought to Italy at that time were shared with other gardens. The first flowering of the Corpse Flower in cultivation was in 1889 at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, England, from the Beccari introduction. It flowered in the Western Hemisphere for the first time at the New York Botanical Garden in 1937. Few specimens of Amorphophallus titanum were grown or flowered until the 1990s, when seeds were gathered in the wild and distributed widely among botanical gardens and private collectors. Since then, this plant has bloomed on over 500 occasions in gardens around the world.
Research, Education, and Conservation
The blooming of a rare plant like Amorphophallus titanum provides The Huntington with an opportunity to pursue three of its most important missions: research, education, and conservation. With each flowering, botanists learn more about this unusual plant, while The Huntington shares with its visitors not only some fascinating new facts, but also an increased appreciation for the wonder and diversity of the plant kingdom. Through ongoing conservation efforts, The Huntington helps to protect rare and endangered plants from extinction. The Huntington's Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science showcases many amazing plants from around the world, including Amorphophallus titanum, with interactive exhibits for families that encourage curiosity and discovery.
Additional Facts
- Corpse Flower Anatomy
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The plant grows from a large corm, a bulb-like tuber, under the soil. The visible parts are the spadix (the fleshy upright column) and the spathe (the petal-like outer covering). When the plant blooms, the spathe opens to reveal a velvety maroon interior and begins to emit a foul stench, earning it the nickname “Stinky Plant.”
Click image to enlarge Just as notable as the size of this plant's bloom is the odor it emits when it is ready for pollination. On the first evening the spathe opens, a cocktail of powerful chemicals is released. The inflorescence also generates heat to assist in volatilizing these chemicals. This extraordinary action by the plant makes it easier for pollinators such as sweat bees and other insects to find the flowers. In the first phase, the female flowers are receptive to pollination and in the second phase, on the second day, male flowers release their pollen after the female flowers are no longer receptive. This carefully timed arrangement helps ensure that cross-pollination and fertilization will only occur between different individual plants.
The Corpse Flower or Titan Arum is native to the rainforests of western Sumatra, Indonesia where it grows on limestone hills at low elevations, in forest openings where there is enough light and space to produce its massive leaf and inflorescence or flower-bearing structure. The climate is warm and rainy, with little variance throughout the year. Although it is one of the most famous plants in the world, little is known of its natural history.
- How Big Can It Get?
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Click image to enlarge The size of the Corpse Flower bloom is probably its greatest attraction. The previous tallest flowering specimen at The Huntington, in 2009, was almost seven feet tall, eclipsed by “Stankosaurus Rex” at over 8 feet tall (98 inches). The world record holder comes in at over 12 feet tall. The "tuber", which is actually a corm, can weigh over 300 pounds and the solitary umbrella-like leaf can be over 15 feet tall. But it's the rotting flesh smell of the flowers that makes this plant so memorable and notorious. Adding to the mystique is the ephemeral nature of such a massive flowering effort, lasting only 2-3 days, and the rarity of seeing a specimen in bloom at any time, anywhere.
When the Titan Arum blooms, it comes straight out of the soil from an underground corm, looking like a giant bud without any foliage. But the plant does produce a single, giant leaf when it isn't in bloom. You might not recognize it as a leaf, however: a mature plant will produce a leaf about 12 feet tall, consisting of a smooth stem topped with a fringe of leaflets, resembling a slender, green palm tree. Several of them are on display in The Huntington's Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science. The leaf can last longer than a year before it dies away.
What is often referred to as the plant's flower is an inflorescence, a specialized structure that supports small individual flowers. The Corpse Flower produces the most massive unbranched inflorescence of any flowering plant. In common to all members of the aroid family, (Araceae), the inflorescence consists of an outer protective sheath (the spathe) that surrounds a central column bearing small individual flowers (the spadix). Better-known members of this family include philodendrons, anthuriums, calla lilies, pothos and others.
- Can I buy one? Do I have one growing in my yard?
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Yes and unlikely.
There are many sources online to purchase an Amorphophallus titanum, including The Huntington’s International Succulent Introductions. This rare plant is for plant enthusiasts who want a challenge and will be committed to nearly a decade of nurturing and pampering this rare and attractive giant.
As to growing in your yard, the Corpse Flower prefers an evenly warm and humid environment such as a greenhouse. We recently received a picture from someone who had one blooming in a container in his backyard in Seal Beach! While Amorphophallus titanum is very rare, many similar, but much smaller plants can be found growing in home gardens. The closest relative most likely may be Amorphophallus rivieri, which grows to a height of about four feet and smells nearly as bad as its larger cousin. Two other related plants are the Dragon Arum (Dracunculus vulgaris), which grows to about 2-3 feet in height, and the Voodoo Lily (Sauromatum venosum), which grows to 12-18 inches in overall height. Calla lilies, anthuriums, and philodendrons are also members of the same family.
A time lapse of the 2022 Corpse Flower bloom at The Huntington recorded over a period of about 40 hours. The rare Amorphophallus titanum plant bloomed on June 19, 2022.
Visitors gather to smell the Corpse Flower’s foul stench during the August 2014 bloom.
A record three Corpse Flowers bloomed at The Huntington in August 2018 and were named “Stink,” “Stank,” and “Stunk.” After blooming, the tall spadix collapses.
Huntington botanical curator John Trager with one of the three 2018 flowers in full bloom.
The plant grows from a large bulb-like tuber, or “corm,” under the soil.
Huntington botanists hand-pollinate the plants, resulting in fruit and fertile seeds from which several seedlings eventually were produced.
When the plant blooms, the spathe (the petal-like outer covering) opens to reveal a velvety maroon interior and begins to emit a foul stench.
Remember the Smell Forever!
Show off your bravery in the face of the stink with our fun and exclusive Corpse Flower merch. Shop the Huntington Store when you visit or online.
1999: Our First Stinky Plant Becomes a Media Sensation!
In the summer of 1999, The Huntington was the focus of world-wide attention when it exhibited the first Amorphophallus titanum ever to bloom in California.
This rare occurrence provided an opportunity for thousands of visitors to witness one of the wonders of the botanical world. Since that extraordinary event, The Huntington has shared the flowering of this rare species with the public in subsequent years. Currently, we maintain several dozen plants of Amorphophallus titanum in our greenhouses and planted in the Conservatory.
Stay up to date on the stink
This Year’s Corpse Flower
The Huntington’s next Corpse Flower will bloom soon and is on view now for a limited time in The Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science.
A time lapse of the 2022 Corpse Flower bloom at The Huntington recorded over a period of about 40 hours. The rare Amorphophallus titanum plant bloomed on June 19, 2022.
In the botanical world, the Amorphophallus titanum, or Titan Arum, has been an A-list celebrity. The Huntington first acquired one in March 1999, and five months later, the Scott Gallery Loggia was the site of the first recorded flowering of Titan Arum in California.
Living plants fill a 16,000 square-foot greenhouse that comprises three different habitats (a lowland tropical rain forest, a cloud forest, and a carnivorous plant bog) and a plant lab devoted to experiment stations focusing on the parts of plants.