Many eagerly await the bloom of the world’s largest and smelliest flower at Huntington Botanical Gardens.
This week, visitors at The Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California were in for a special treat.
Located in the gardens’ conservatory is the Amorphophallus Titanum, or Corpse Flower, a rare and fascinating plant that was expected to bloom soon.
What makes this flower unique is its notorious nickname and its pungent smell. Once it blooms, the flower emits a strong odor that has earned it the name “Corpse Flower.” The bloom lasts for only two to three days before transforming into a large seed.
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Visitors of all ages flocked to the gardens, hoping to witness the rare moment when the Corpse Flower would emerge.
One visitor, Mia Toledano, described the flower as both beautiful and ugly, resembling something out of a science fiction movie like Avatar.
The Huntington has even set up a live camera feed on their website, allowing viewers to watch the flower’s bloom for free.
The bloom of the Corpse Flower is a truly spectacular event, as these plants can live for years without flowering. It is a once-in-a-lifetime treat for botanists and the public alike.
The Huntington has a special connection to the Corpse Flower. In 1999, it was the site of the first known bloom of this species in California. At that time, it was referred to as “the big stinker” and was only the 11th recorded bloom in the United States.
Since then, Huntington botanists have successfully hand-pollinated the plant, resulting in several generations of “little stinkers” waiting for their moment to bloom in the greenhouses.
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