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'Corpse flower' ready to bloom at New York Botanical Garden
Hold your breath, the iconic 'corpse flower' is set to bloom at the New York Botanical Garden for the first time since 2019. FOX 5 NY's Ashlie Rodriguez has the story.
The New York Botanical Garden is on bloom watch, waiting for its infamous ‘corpse flower’ to bloom and let the stink out.
The flower's scientific name is Amorphophallis Titanum, and it last bloomed back in 2019. Four years later and the southeast Asian giant is set to open again.
"Very few things that are beautiful smell that bad," said Steve LaWarre, Vice President of Horticulture at Frederik Meijer Gardens.
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And she genuinely, truly stinks. Like rotting meat, according to people who have experienced its unique fragrance. Hence, her nickname: the Corpse Flower.
"They smell absolutely terrible," LaWarre said.
LaWarre, a self-avowed plant nerd horticulture expert, experienced his own corpse flower bloom at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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He says the beauty of the plant kingdom's largest flower structure is spectacular, with a spectrum of purples, burgundies, and yellows. And that putrid smell has a purpose. The corpse flower emits heat and the odor of dead animals, tricking flies and other insects into pollinating it.
"It's really something to see and anybody who can I recommend you check it because it's really cool," LaWarre said.
When it blooms you must act fast. The fragrance of rotting meat only lasts for 24–36 hours.