Corpse Flower Blooms At Cornell University, Causing Stink And Spectacle (VIDEO)

By: OurAmazingPlanet Staff
Published: 03/19/2012 12:25 PM EDT on OurAmazingPlanet

A rare — and stinky — corpse flower is blooming now at Cornell University, and those who are curious can watch, though sadly (or maybe happily) not smell, the spectacle on a live Web stream.

The Cornell corpse flower began blooming on Sunday (March 18) after weeks of watching.

Native to the equatorial rain forests of central Sumatra in western Indonesia, the corpse flower is technically known as an Indonesian titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum).

They grow only in the rain forests of Sumatra and rarely bloom in cultivation. The Cornell plant is only one of 140 such cultivated plants to bloom in history.

"It's quite an exciting experience here," Cornell horticulturist Karl Niklas told OurAmazingPlanet last week before the plant bloomed. "We've brought a little bit of Sumatra to upstate New York."

The university has set up a live Web stream of the corpse flower so that remote fans can take a gander.

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Corpse flowers first bloom around the time they are 7 to 10 years old, and then every few years or so after that.

When it does bloom, the flower emits a powerful odor that smells exactly like rotting meat — hence the name.  In the wild, the odor and deep purple color of the leaf that unfolds entice pollinating carrion beetles and flesh flies, which normally feed on rotting flesh.

In cultivation, researchers have to play the part of the insects and hand-pollinate the flower.

The giant 'petal' that opens is called a spathe, and the center spike is called a spadix. The 'flower' is actually thousands of tiny flowers, which botanists call an inflorescence.

Corpse flowers are traditionally named, and the Kenneth Post Lab Greenhouses at Cornell where the plant is housed are letting fans vote on a name for theirs. Voting is open until 1 p.m. ET, and the options are: Big Red (Cornell University's mascot); Uncle Ezra (one of Cornell University's founders); and Wee Stinky (after a small stream on campus).

Those nearby can also stop by and take a look at the odiferous flower in person, though officials ask that visitors not wear any kind of fragrance.

• Hold Your Nose: 7 Foul Flowers
• A Corpse Flower Blooms
• Naughty by Nature: The Most Disgusting and Deadly Flowers

Copyright 2012 OurAmazingPlanet, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

WATCH: TIME LAPSE OF CORPSE FLOWER BLOOMING

Comments

[poste]

02:44 PM on 03/26/2012

Even the color of the flower is suitable for its name.

[jf12]

11:49 AM on 03/21/2012

Much of the wood mulch applied around here (Houston area) last year was infested with a type of stinkhorn commonly known as devil's dash-dash-dash.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phallus_(genus)
Some weeks ago they emerged, first like full blown uncircumsized corpse erections, then the tip split open, turning gangrenous looking, attracting flies and smelling like rotten death. Slowly over a week or more the whole thing rotted, pieces dripping off.

Nearby, the dog vomit fungus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slime_mold
crawled over the ground, traveling decimeters per day, avoiding the black blobs from the phalleles.

[Sidneybritogusmao]

06:33 PM on 03/20/2012

rio de janeiro SIDNEY BRITO GUSMAO DUQUE DE CAXIAS

[ilovetempeh]

03:21 PM on 03/20/2012

They grow only in the rain forests of Sumatra and rarely bloom in cultivation. The Cornell plant is only one of 140 such cultivated plants to bloom in history.

Not true! They also grow in Java

[HOMEY1]

02:43 PM on 03/20/2012

the baggers love the smell of thier party decaying in the morning

[Chunkylover54]

02:16 PM on 03/20/2012

is that old guy with white hair on the slide show flipping everyone off?

if so, well played sir, well played

[b1986]

02:07 PM on 03/20/2012

Little shop, little shoppa horror
Little shop, little shoppa terror
Call a cop, little shoppa horror
No, oh Oh, no!

[ramal]

01:09 PM on 03/20/2012

I have had one in my garden forever. I always heard it called a "Devil's Tongue."

[Jack Davies]

01:01 PM on 03/20/2012

YES! Not sure to this day what to make of it, but my wife and I consider this to be "our flower". Between the ones in DC, Madison, and a few other places, one of these Titan Arums bloomed the day we met, the day we got married, and within a week of each of our two daughters being born, as well as the week she landed her dream job after college. Talk about weird coincidence!

I cannot wait to see what this particular blooming portends for us!

[SocietalSilence]

01:01 PM on 03/20/2012

Should name it "Vileplume."

[lmayj]

01:00 PM on 03/20/2012

that is one scarry ..but pretty looking flower

[jbunyon]

12:44 PM on 03/20/2012

ha. my wife and daughter just went and saw it. they said it smelled like road kill only if you stick your nose up close

[eehd]

12:31 PM on 03/20/2012

Huh, the petal looks like a subject for Georgia O'keefe, without the spadix, of course. ;)

[mjeffn]

12:29 PM on 03/20/2012

They name it "Santorum's Ecstasy"

[WhereIsTheTruth]

01:23 PM on 03/20/2012

More like Santorum's Bane.

[Rickter]

12:13 PM on 03/20/2012

How "rare" can it be? It seems we see this same story every 6 months.