In the Australian city of Geelong, south of Melbourne, thousands of people are lining up for the rare chance to see – and smell – an unusual plant.
“It’s a disgrace,” declared one visitor, coughing and breathing into his hand.
“Smells like a dead sosum,” said one child more bluntly.
This is the so-called “corpse flower”or Amorphophallus Titanum (often shortened to Titan Arum), named after him from the stench it releases when flowering to attract pollinators such as beetles and flies.
However, it blooms unpredictably, sometimes only once every 10 years – and each flowering period lasts only 24 to 48 hours, making it a highly sought-after event that attracts huge crowds.
This plant was donated to Geelong Botanic Gardens as recently as 2021 from the State Herbarium in Adelaide, South Australia, and for years gardeners have been watching it and waiting for signs of an emerging bud.
The plant began blooming on Monday November 11 after days of waiting, with about 5,000 people arriving to see it, Geelong parks manager Reese McIlvena told Nine News. So far, visitors have described the smell as similar to a dead mouse or a stinky lake, the city’s website said.
The botanical garden will be open continuously until Tuesday evening, when the blooming season is expected to end.
For those unable to come in person, Mr garden also offers a live broadcast of the flower – which has garnered tens of thousands of views so far, with viewers tuning in from around the world, according to the city’s website.
Some visitors have returned several times to watch the plant in its various stages of bloom.
“As Geelong Botanic Gardens opens its doors for this extraordinary event, we can appreciate the vital role that botanic gardens play in promoting rare and unique plant species,” said City of Greater Geelong chief executive Ali Wastie, according to Nine News.
“The endangered Titan Arum is the largest carrion species and its conservation is important as its wild population declines.”
The plant is endemic to Indonesia and is listed as “threatened» according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Its natural habitat, the Sumatran forest, has been destroyed by land degradation and deforestation, with much of the land converted to plantations for timber, paper or palm oil, according to the IUCN.
The plant can live over 30 to 40 years – meaning it only blooms a few times in its entire life. The IUCN estimates that only a few hundred of these plants are left in the wild.
It is now legally protected in Indonesia, and dozens of botanic gardens around the world grow the plant to support its conservation, according to the IUCN – including one in California, which the public voted to name ‘Darth Vapor’.
Source: CNN
