Rollins College corpse flower image via Ripleys.com
Rollins College greenhouse operator, Alan Chryst, waited 11 years for his first corpse flower to bloom last April. The campus was abuzz with visitors from all over Central Florida who came to see (and smell) the stinky plant firsthand.
The corpse plant, or Amorphophallus titanum (meaning “giant misshapen penis” in Latin), gets its name from the sickly smell that radiates from the plant once it blooms, that is very reminiscent of rotting meat. The smell attracts flies and pollinators to the flower. The flower originates in the rainforests of Sumatra.
The strange plants generally take about 10 years to bloom. They generally sit dormant for years, conserving energy, and then when ready, grow anywhere between 10 to 20 feet in height in only 40 days.
You can follow its progress on the greenhouse live cam HERE.
I know I put my face right on top of a foul smelling flower
Nice. I’m in.
Heck ya! When is it suppose to bloom?
It’s gonna smell terrible, but I’m down
Wendell Jimerson lol. We can go
Dennis Michael – we need to check it out.
Perrin Curley, we need to go check this out. 🙂