A giant flower, one of the smelliest plants in the world, is currently blooming at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
, in London, but it will only be around briefly – they tend to last for between just 24 and 36 hours., is so named because the stench of rotting flesh can emanate from it so powerfully that travels for hundreds of metres. The knockout smell is tailored to attract unusual pollinators like flesh flies and carrion beetles to the short-lived bloom, and the odour must be strong enough to do its job in the narrow time window, because the plant might not flower again for many years.
Technically, the bloom, which can reach 3 metres high, isn’t a single flower, but many. The inner flower spike, or spadix, looks like a yellow obelisk as it emerges from a pleated purple collar called the spathe. An inflorescence, or cluster, of flowers is protected between the spathe and spadix. The rare plants are endemic to the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia, but many botanical gardens around the world cultivate them, both for their beauty and for the crowds they draw when they flower. The first time one is known to have flowered outside Sumatra was at Kew in 1889.
If you happen to see – and smell – one, the odour might not be what you expect. It can vary through the short life of the bloom and aside from rotting meat could smell like the equally delightful excrement or warm trash.
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