Moreover, the powerful, pungent smell is characteristic of its magnificence and integral to its survival. Hence, the morbid common name, corpse flower, refers to its rotten stench. In other words, the blooming event is not worth missing, and plant enthusiasts are keeping an eye on the viewing dates ongoing from July 14 and close on July 30. @cbssf covered the corpse flower bloom at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate.
In January 2025, the Royal Sydney Botanic Garden made headlines for a gothic display of the corpse flower with a stench so strong that the staff had to consider keeping vomit bags in store for the visitors. Thankfully, they did not wish to proceed with that measure, noting the fans who flocked to get a glimpse of the momentous bloom and take a whiff of its pungent stink reminiscent of gym socks and garbage, as reported by AP News. The corpse flower that emits the smell of decaying flesh is barely a deterrent for visitors. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Fans have dubbed the plant as Putricia, a combination of the words ‘putrid’ and ‘Patricia’, while referring to themselves as Putricians. @ABCNewsindepth shared glimpses of the popular Putricia in full bloom on YouTube.
Originally, the plants are found in the Sumatran rainforest in Indonesia and referred to as bunga bangkai. In the wild, it is believed that only 300 of these plants exist, while not more than 1,000 are being cultivated across the globe. The rare blooms only flower every 7 to 10 years in their natural habitat. Hence, the museum felt fortunate to have been graced by the bloom’s presence after waiting for years. “The fact that they open very rarely, so they flower rarely, is obviously something that puts them at a little bit of a disadvantage in the wild,” Daniel explained.
At daytime, the flower gracefully opens around its central tuber as the outer green layer curls up to reveal a burgundy center. Upon its unfurling, the plant’s temperature rose to 37 degrees Celsius, attracting flies and beetles for pollination. This is when the garden staff began the delicate task of hand pollination to ensure its survival. @NatGeo shared an intriguing feature of the corpse flower bloom at the US Botanic Garden.
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