The Corpse Plant: How It Lives

The amorphophallus titanum, titan arum, or corpse plant is a flowering plant that emits a terrible odor (similar to that of a rotting corpse) when it blooms. I know it's pretty gross, but it's also really cool. And there is a scientific reason for the smell.

The corpse plant doesn't bloom very often, generally every 7-10 years, but when it does it has to make sure its species continues. To do this the plant must make sure it attracts pollinators. In order to attract the dung beetles, flesh flies, and other carnivorous insects that are its primary pollinators it needs to look, smell, and feel like rotting meat. This is the reason why the plant has it's pungent odor. It is also the reason why when it blooms the color inside the blossom is a deep burgundy, and why the corpse plant has the ability to warm up to 98 degrees Fahrenheit.

I mentioned earlier that these plants don't bloom very often. Now its time to tell you why, it simply doesn't have the energy. It gathers energy slowly by growing a single leaf, on its non-flowering years, the leaf then grows several leaflets off of it and gathers energy before dying so a new one can take its place. The plant stores the energy at its corm, which is a swollen stem base, and also where the leaf sprouts from. The corpse plant has the world's largest-known corm, it can weigh up to 220 pounds. When the plant finally obtains enough energy to bloom, it only last for about 24-36 hours before the bloom collapses and the cycle starts over again.

A Few Fun Facts

The stench that comes from the corpse flower has chemical components such as isovaleric acid (causes the sweaty sock smell), phenol (as in Chloraseptic throat spray), and trimethylamine (which is found in rotting fish) among others.

Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari first discovered the plant in Sumatra in 1878.

One corpse plant was listed as having the tallest bloom in the Guinness Book of World Records. It bloomed on June 18, 2010 at Winnipesaukee Orchids in Gilford, New Hampshire. It was 10 feet 2.25 inches tall.