Rare corpse flower unfurls with rotting flesh odor at London's Kew Gardens

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London recently saw the unfolding of a remarkable but pungent bloom known as the corpse flower on June 18.

This plant, scientifically named Amorphophallus titanum or titan arum, is notorious for its brief lifespan of just 24 to 36 hours.

Named for its foul odour resembling rotting flesh, the corpse flower emits a scent so strong it can travel hundreds of meters, attracting unconventional pollinators like flesh flies and carrion beetles.

This odour is crucial for its reproduction, as the plant may not bloom again for many years. Despite its size—reaching up to 3 meters—the bloom technically consists of numerous small flowers clustered around a central spike called a spadix, which emerges from a purple collar known as a spathe.

Interestingly, the odour emitted by the corpse flower can vary during its short flowering period, sometimes resembling excrement or warm garbage rather than the expected scent of decay.

Although native to the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia, these rare plants are cultivated in botanical gardens worldwide for their aesthetic appeal and the public interest they generate when they bloom.

The first recorded flowering of a corpse flower outside Sumatra occurred at Kew Gardens in 1889.