Titan arum

The Titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) or "Corpse plant", in Indonesia "bunga bangkai", has the largest inflorescence in the world (but not the largest single flower; that distinction belongs to Rafflesia). The inflorescence reaches 2 m tall, taller than a man. Like the related arum and calla, it consists of a fragrant spadix of flowers wrapped by a spathe, which looks like the flower's single petal. The "fragrance" of the inflorescence resembles rotting meat, attracting carrion-eating beetles that pollinate it.

Both male and female flowers grow in the same inflorescence. The female flowers open first, then a day or two following, the male flowers open. This prevents the flower from self-pollinating.

After the flower dies back, a single leaf, which reaches the size of a small tree, grows from the underground corm. The leaf grows on a green stalk that branches into three sections at the top, each containing many leaflets. The leaf structure can reach up to 6 m tall and 5 m across. Each year, the old leaf dies and a new one grows in its place. When the corm has stored enough energy, it becomes dormant for as many as 4 months and the process repeats.

First discovered in Sumatra in 1878, the plant flowers only infrequently in the wild and even more rarely when cultivated. It first flowered in cultivation at the Kew Gardens in London. In recent years the number of plants cultivated has increased, and it is not uncommon for there to be five or more flowering events in gardens around the world in a single year.

External links

• Titan at Huntington Botanical Gardens, California
• Titan at Hortus Botanicus Leiden