Corpse Plant

The Corpse Plant | Amorphophallus titanum

Skip to: About the Corpse Flower – Life Cycle  – Conservation – Live Stream

An Amorphophallus titanum, also known as titan arum, recently bloomed at the Garden in July 2024! Nicknamed the corpse flower due to its rancid smell of rotting flesh, this plant and its extraordinary bloom are a rare occurrence as most require seven to ten years to produce their first blooms, and bloom only every four to five years thereafter. 

Images Courtesy of US Botanic Garden

About the Corpse Flower

Found within the dense rainforests of Sumatra, Amorphophallus titanum earn the nickname of corpse flower by mimicking an odor of rotten meat to attract pollinators such as carrion beetles and flies. To increase its chances of pollination, the large spadix self-generates heat (thermogenesis). This heat raises the scent high into the trees, attracting insects from farther away. The compounds that create the odor have been identified and described as smelling like cheese, garlic, smelly feet, diapers, or rotten fish.

Life Cycle

The blooming of a corpse plant is a rare and special event, as most plants require seven to ten years to produce their first blooms, and bloom only every four to five years thereafter. Starting off as a corm, unlike other plants, the corpse plant only takes one form every cycle, sprouting  out either a leaf or blooming with hundreds of flowers. Once it fully blooms, it will only emit its signature stench for 48 hours before it begins to close up and slowly decay over the following weeks.

Images Courtesy of US Botanic Garden

Conservation

The corpse flower is listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with an estimation of fewer than 1,000 individuals remaining in the wild. IUCN estimates the population has declined more than 50% over the past 150 years. The main reasons for the decline are logging and the conversion of the plant’s native forest habitat to oil palm plantations. 

Botanic gardens across the world work together to preserve the genetic diversity of plants like this one by sharing pollen, seed, and plant materials. San Diego Botanic Garden will collect and store pollen from the bloom, with hopes of sharing out to other botanic gardens to broaden the gene pool and help conserve this magnificent plant. 

Side-by-Side Timelapse 2024

Uncle Fester (6/28) and Morticia (7/17)

This summer, the Garden was lucky enough to host two rare corpse flower blooms. These two plants appear to be on the same cycle. Both previously bloomed within 30 days of each other – first in 2018 and a second time, also together, in 2021. These plants are part of the Garden’s permanent collection.

 

Corpse Plant Cam (24-Hour Live Stream)

There are currently no corpse plants blooming.