Huge crowds are flocking to a Southern California botanical park to see a large and stinky Sumatran flower known as the ‘corpse plant’, as it smells like a dead body. The Amorphophallus titanum plant bloomed at the San Diego Botanic Gardens in Encinitas on Sunday afternoon. The San Diego Union-Tribune said that timed-entry tickets had sold out by Monday morning.
By Tuesday evening, more than 5,000 people were scheduled to visit the garden. ‘Corpse plant’ bloom lasts just 48 hours, during which time it emits a lurid smell of decaying flesh that attracts carrion beetles and flesh flies which aid in the pollination process.
The flower is also called the Penis plant, because of its shape. The blooming flower resembles a man’s genital parts when viewed from the side. This flower blooms seldom. It just flowered in Europe recently, for the third time in history. Amorphophallus decus – silvae is the botanical name for this flower.
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The stench of the corpse flower is really unpleasant. For a while, it could feel like you are standing in a cemetery with multiple dead bodies decaying. This flower is enormous. The plant’s phallic section can grow to be over six feet tall. The flower requires highly warm and humid conditions to thrive.
This plant takes seven years to bloom in its natural setting, which is the Indonesian island of Java, but it is considered rare when it blooms in other parts of the world, such as Europe.
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