Amorphophallus titanum at RBG Kew’s Princess Conservatory
Amorphophallus titanum is incredible — its amazing size and equally breathtaking smell have earned it celebrity status in the plant world. The genus name Amorphophallus is derived from Greek and means “shapeless or deformed phallus”, and the species name titanum means “extremely large”.
The titan arum has the distinction of being the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. It is found in the forests of Sumatra, an island in Western Indonesia. The first European to collect seeds of this plant was an Italian botanist named Odoardo Beccari, who visited Sumatra in 1878.
Seeds collected by Beccari were germinated in Italy, and one plant made its way to The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in England — it was here that the first Amorphophallus titanum in cultivation bloomed in 1889.
The humongous inflorescence is composed of a spadix (a thick spike covered in small flowers) and a spathe (a showy bract that encloses the spadix). This flower structure is typical of the Araceae. The combined spadix and spathe can reach over 1m across. The spadix itself can reach 3m in height, and emits a most incredible odor — often compared to rotten meat and excrement. The spathe is ruffled and meaty red in colour.
Studies have shown that the inflorescence also generates heat during flowering. This combination of odor, colour and heat effectively imitates a decomposing mammal, earning the plant the common name of carrion flower or corpse flower. The potent smell is believed to attract pollinators over the long distances that separate these rare flowers (watch a video explaining the inflorescence and pollination).
A massive tuber sustains the inflorescence, and can weigh between 50 and 90kg (100-200lbs!) Once flowering is finished, the plant dies back to the large underground storage organ. After a resting period, a giant compound leaf is produced which resembles a small tree and can measure 6m tall and up to 5m across. The leaf is photosynthetic and restores energy to the tuber. There may be a gap of several years in which the plant produces only leaves before the next flowering stage occurs. The University of Wisconsin-Madison Botany Greenhouses and Botanical Garden provide a nice illustration of the lifecycle.
Photography resource link (added by Daniel): the Tao of Photography weblog by Andy Ilachinski (do be sure to browse through his recent portfolios via the right-hand sidebar).
Other than shape and size: Is this plant related in any way to the Skunk Cabbage found in the Carolinian forests of Ontario?
What an incredible plant! Those outside leaves are so beautiful and just the over-all style of this odorific fellow…wonderful.
Aida: Yes, they are in the same family. Within the family, they appear fairly distantly related. Still, so far as I know, the spadix and spathe inflorescence architecture characterizes all of the Aroids including A. titanum and skunk cabbage.
I volunteer at Kew, and disappointingly (?), whilst the flower lasts for a couple of weeks, the smell only goes on for 48 hours. David Attenborough made up the common name “Titan Arum” for it when he was filming one of his nature series and took an on-the-spot decision that the Latin name was just too rude to say on the BBC!
I’m surprised that such a large tuber (and inflorescence, and leaf) can be supported by such a relatively small pot.
How long do these plants live?
bv
One of these created a local sensation at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, a wealthy suburb of Los Angeles, in 2002.
http://articles.latimes.com/2002/aug/05/local/me-stink5
i saw this plant in full bloom
and in full odour at selby gardens
in sarasota florida
the crowds are always large
looks like some thing in a
a si fi film thank you
I saw the one in flower at the Eden Project last year but it has a way to go before it gets this big!
Stunning and spectacular!
Wow, just WOW!!
A stunning photo, and more than excellent text – wonderful links – a perfectly marvellous presentation. Thank you ever so much.
Our li’l ol’ skunk cabbages reek enough for me, I can’t begin to imagine the odour of such an enormous plant.
Truly something from the “Little Shop of Horrors.” We saw this in Kew years ago but missed the time when the scent was detectable.
This a such a great photograph. I really like all the information you provided. I like to see and learn of plants I have never seen before.
Thank you,
Margaret-Rae
When are you going to change the name of this posting to “botany picture of whenever I get around to it?
Such a Gigantic spectacular. The thing that interests me more is the potential of the plant in the field of medicine. There could be reason why it attracts other animals is its hunger for blood. For all we know it may produce some type of serum that could be an ingredient for the regeneration of body parts. Just an imagination.
Great discription of the plant. Is it related to the stinking corpse lily? I know that’s a record size flower and known for it’s stinkiness. The photo of the titan is almost scary!