We went to the Huntington Gardens yesterday to see their corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum—and, yes, that is a NSFW scientific name) which was set to bloom soon. A few minutes after we arrived an excited docent ran thought the conservatory letting everyone know that the flower was starting to open.
We had lucked out. It takes years for the plant to bloom and the flower does not last long. We left to have lunch and when we came back horticultural pandemonium had broken out:
There was no sign of the flower’s infamous rotting flesh smell (the odor attracts carrion eating insects who provide pollination). But a Huntington staffer kindly took our camera and pointed it into the flower. Here’s the inside view:
Here’s a time lapse video from Michigan State of their corpse flower blooming:
What a great thing to see! Totally jealous!
SO AMAZING! To think I was down there Saturday and only a few blocks away. Wish I had known!
I had the mixed blessing of viewing a corpse flower in an Arizona nursery a few years ago. It was amazing, and yes, it did stink like rotting flesh.
Just came from a forest where they eat its root, after grating, drying steaming in a bamboo tube with coconut milk. Looking forward to next summer, when they make it.