There are a lot of things flowers are associated with, from cute outfits and great floral interiors to death and funerals. But there’s one thing most of us have yet to experience: a flower that smells so bad that you could compare its odor with the one of a corpse.
Because of its rarity, however, only a few will ever smell or even see the Corpse Flower. Growing in preponderance in Indonesia, this type of plant is considered to be a very rare and strange plant.
During its blooming, the flower is known for its distinctly horrible smell that many say it’s a reminder of rotting food or a corpse. But the strategy helps the plant thrive, as flies and beetles that are on a pollination mission it are attracted by the awful smell.
There are three stages for the growth of a single Corpse Flower: first, there’s a single leaf growing, but the first one always dies in shortly after, leaving the flower dormant for quite a while. This second stage could last anywhere between 10-15 years, and nothing happens.
But when the plant comes back to life in the third phase, it grows another leaf and a blooming flower. The rarity of this foul smelling beauty is given by the fact that the flower will only last for about 48 hours – two days after 15 years of dormancy.
Ever since Denver was given a specimen in its care back in 2007, horticulturalists have been watching over it like a pack of hawks. Under its scientific name, the plant is known as Titan Arum, and the Denver exhibit is the first to ever come back to life in the Rocky Mountain Region.
One of the horticulturalists guarding the flower’s evolution, Aaron Sedivy, said that the plant is roughly 13 years old and its blooming was according to schedule. Even though scientists were sure exactly when the plant would bloom, they could narrow it down to sometime this year.
After opening up on early Wednesday, the Corpse Flower is not standing proudly on five feet, three inches. Starting the countdown on the 48 hours, mass crowds have gathered to view the plant, sometimes spending even 3 hours just waiting to get an awful whiff and a view of the stinking beautiful flower.
Image Source: Huffington Post
Joe Hennessey
