San Marino’s The Huntington Officially on Bloom Watch

The plant is perhaps most famous for its exceptionally foul odor, giving it the nickname, corpse flower. – Courtesy photo / The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens

The Amorphophallus titanium, or “corpse flower,” a native to the tropical rain forests of Sumatra and known for the rotten stench it releases when flowering, has officially been put on bloom watch. This “Li’l Stinker,” The Huntington’s sixth corpse flower to date, is still less than 40-inches tall (some can grow over six feet).

When exactly will it bloom? No one knows. An Amorphophallus titanum in bloom is as rare as it is spectacular. A plant can go for many years without flowering, and when it does the bloom lasts only between one to three days. Actual bloom time varies as well. The Huntington’s very first bloom in 1999, took seven hours from when the bloom started to open until it was in full bloom.

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