Image: Prof. Brett Summerell with a corpse plant in flower.
If you think Sydney’s a bit on the nose, you’re not imagining it – especially if you are anywhere near the glasshouses at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. The rare corpse flower or titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) is starting to bloom with an aroma of rotting flesh. The blooming is expected to happen sometime between January 15 and January 20. The flower only lasts for 24 hours before it starts to die.
Prof. Brett Summerell, Chief Scientist at the Garden, says the plant smells like a dead possum in the roof. Despite the smell, crowds will be queuing to see and smell the flower. To accommodate the crowds, the RBGS will stay open until midnight during the blooming period. It is the first time in 20 years that the plant has bloomed, and scientists are keen to study the flower as the plant is endangered in the wild.
“It’s a spectacular plant with a back story of amazing evolutionary adaptations and a dire need for conservation,” said Prof. Summerell.
Specimens have also flowered at other botanic gardens in Australia including Adelaide and Cairns.
To hear more about the flower, including comments for HMAA President and horticulturist, Judy Horton, listen to this ABC radio interview from the World Today by Alison Xiao.
