Native to Sumatra, the towering Titan Arum plant rarely flowers indoors, but when it does, it draws a crowd.  That was the case this fall, when 2,000 people visited CALS’ D.C. Smith Greenhouse to witness the rare event.  In mature bloom, the plant sends up a cone of tiny flowers that can reach 10 feet.  But its fame comes from its distinctive foul odor – a stench similar to rotting flesh that earns it the nickname “corpse flower.”  The four-foot-tall bloom was the first for the CALS plant, which was parented by Big Bucky, a Titan Arum that bloomed in the UW Botany Greenhouse in 2001.

This article was posted in Around the college, Fall 2010, On Henry Mall and tagged botany, Corpse Flower, Titan Arum.