When my kids visited Washington DC last month they visited the US Botanical Gardens and had an opportunity to see a corpse flower .
This plant began opening in peak bloom on the evening of Tuesday, July 5, 2022 at a height of 104" and collapsed on Saturday, July 9, 2022. It was the fourth bloom for this plant, which bloomed in 2013, 2017, and 2019. The plant is 16 years old.
It is estimated that there are fewer than 1000 titan arums in the wild and there is a worldwide conservation effort to preserve the species.
This plant is native to the tropical rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia and the population has declined more than 50% over the past 150 years. Logging and the conversion of native habitat to oil palm plantations is the reason for the decline.
Called the corpse flower or stinky plant, its putrid smell is most potent at night. The odor is often compared to the odor of rotting flesh. The flower generates heat and the combination of heat and smell lures pollinators, such as carrion beetles and flies, from far away.
It takes seven to ten years for each corpse flower to begin its bloom cycle. The plant lives for 30-40 years and can reach up to 8 feet tall.
It would definitely not be a great houseplant!
all photos are my property and stats about this plant came from info the kids learned from hearing the guide at the garden tell them about this plant and the research I did to confirm their info
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