Denver Botanic Gardens Gardens Navigator Meet the Corpse Flower and its Family
The Gardens welcomed our third bloom in five years of Amorphophallus titanum in 2018, more commonly known as the corpse flower or titan arum. When the flower opened on August 30th it emitted a foul odor for under 48 hours. This odor is a mechanism for the plant to draw in pollinators, including carrion beetles and flies, from as far as a mile away! This particular plant was nicknamed Stinky and also was the first one to ever bloom at the Gardens in 2015. Its brother, Little Stinker bloomed in August 2016. Once a plant in cultivation blooms, it may rebloom as often as every 2-3 years. While the corpse flower is the largest flower of its family, there are many other plants that are part of the arum family (Araceae) that you are likely already familiar with. This list will introduce you to some of the corpse flower's family members which grow both in the Conservatory and on the grounds at the Gardens. You can visit Stinky and Little Stinker by walking through the Orangery. The plants can be viewed in the eastern most greenhouse before you enter Marnie's Pavilion. Depending on the time of your visit, you may see them as a single large leaf, as a dormant pot, or perhaps, as a newly emerging flower bud. You can also see many other species within the genus Amorphophallus in this same window. Updated November 21, 2019 |
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