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After a spectacular bloom on August 7, 2002, The Huntington's "Corpse Flower," the
Amorphophallus titanum, has retired from public view. It was the second flowering
for this rare Sumatran plant at The Huntington; the first was in 1999. Thousands of
visitors came to witness the brief but magnificent bloom, drawn by the rarity of the event
as well as by the plant's enormous size, unusual appearance, and notorious smell.
While it was in bloom, the Corpse Flower was hand pollinated by staff botanist John Trager.
Because these plants cannot naturally self pollinate, cross pollination was done using pollen
donated from the Fullerton Arboretum and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, gathered
during recent blooms at those institutions. Pollen collected from our own flower was, in
turn, donated to the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Unfortunately, the cross pollination was not successful. After returning to the nursery,
the plant withered without producing any fruit or seeds. (In 1999, fertilization resulted
in viable seeds from which several healthy seedlings were propagated.) Botanists speculate
that the plant may not have rested long enough between its blooms in 1999 and 2002 to store
enough energy for the task.
But don't think you've seen the last of this remarkable botanical titan! The next time
it-or one of its young progeny-makes a public appearance will probably be in its new
Huntington home, the Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science.
The Conservatory is scheduled to open in early 2004.
To see timeline photos of the Corpse Flower in bloom, click the link at the top of this page.
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ABOUT THE FLOWER
The Amorphophallus titanum, also known as the Titan Arum, is native to the equatorial
rainforests of Sumatra, in Indonesia. It has been called the "largest flower in the
world," with a bloom that can grow to over 8 feet in height, opening as wide as 4 feet
in diameter. When in flower, it exudes a foul stench that smells like rotting meat. For
that reason, Indonesians call it the Bunga Bangkai, which means "Corpse Flower." In the
summer of 1999, The Huntington made international headlines and drew record-breaking
crowds when it exhibited the first Amorphophallus titanum ever to bloom in California.
Several seedlings resulted from its historic flowering. The parent plant bloomed for a second
time just three years later, on August 6-7,2002. For additional information about
the Amorphophallus titanum, click here.
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