A rose by any other name would smell lovely, but fiddling around the edges won’t help with a corpse flower. This week, a rare corpse flower, massive Amorphophallus Titanium unveiled its less-than-delicate petals at the Huntingdon Library in Los Angeles, an event that occurs once every few years. And it’s emitting a strong odor.
“It smells of rotting flesh,” says conservatory gardener Bryce Dunn. “It’s trying to attract carrion flies to come to pollinate it, so the more it can get that smell out, the more flies it attracts, and the better the plant does.”
The corpse flower is actually a collection of hundreds of small flowers
The bloom, which is as tall as a person, is actually a collection of hundreds of small flowers, both male and female, that open at slightly different times. It has been preparing for its moment in the sun for about a month.
But, as with all the best floral delicacies, you have to be quick to grab it. Think of the exquisite ephemerality of Japan’s famous cherry blossom, but stinking and smelling of dead things.
“Once the flower opens, it’s gone within 48 hours,” says Dunn. “So it’s a very, very short-lived bloom, but it’s quite spectacular.”
Visitors gathered to see the corpse flower in all its smelly glory on Monday.
“It’s such a rare event. I think I’m so lucky to get to see it,” Diana Doo told AFP.
But for Paul Rulmohr, the name didn’t quite seem accurate.
“I wouldn’t say that it was like a corpse,” he said.
“It’s more like an urban dumpster. But it’s good if you’re into that.”