Corpse Flower

A closeup view of a flower with ruffled red spathe and a thick white spadix.

The Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum), also known as the Corpse Flower, is the largest unbranched inflorescence in the plant kingdom. It can grow more than 12 feet tall, blooms for only 24 hours every two to three years, and boasts a powerful stench when it blooms, earning the flower its putrid common name. To learn more about what makes the Titan Arum such a botanical marvel, scroll down and dive into its fascinating story.

July 2026 Double bloom

The Amorphophallus titanum plants "Odora" and "Odorysseus" bloomed simultaneously at The Huntington in July 2026, creating a spectacular double bloom.

Summer 2026: “Odora” and “Odorysseus”

On July 12, a rare botanical spectacle occurred as two of our corpse flowers, Odora and Odorysseus, bloomed simultaneously. After soaring to 43.75 inches (Odora) and 71 inches (Odorysseus) in just 11 days, the towering plants unfurled together—double the bloom, double the drama, and, of course, double the stench. Within 24 hours, more than 12,000 visitors joined us to experience this extraordinary event.

In the News

The World’s Largest Flower?

The Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum) has been referred to as the "world's largest flower," but it's actually an inflorescence that can grow to more than 8 feet in height and 4 feet in diameter. At the peak of its growth, the Titan Arum can grow up to 6 inches a day! It is a rare tropical plant native to the equatorial rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia.

Corpse Flower

When in flower, it exudes a foul stench that smells like rotting meat. For that reason, Indonesians call it Bunga Bangkai, which means “Corpse Flower.” The plant grows from a large corm, a bulb-like tuber, under the soil. The visible parts are the spadix (the fleshy upright column) and the spathe (the petal-like outer covering).

Why Does It Smell?

When the plant blooms, the spathe opens to reveal a velvety maroon interior and begins to emit a foul stench, earning it the nickname “Stinky Plant.” Though everyone smells something different, the scent is made up of several different compounds: primarily dimethyl trisulfide (stinky cheese or boiled cabbage) and dimethyl disulfide (garlic), but also levels of trimethylamine (rotting fish), isovaleric acid (sweaty socks), benzyl alcohol (sweet flowery scent), and indole.⁣⁣ The purpose of the putrid stench? To attract nighttime pollinators like flesh flies, carrion beetles, and sweat bees. ⁣

Where Does It Grow?

The Corpse Flower, or Titan Arum, is native to the rainforests of western Sumatra, Indonesia, where it grows on limestone hills at low elevations, in forest openings where there is enough light and space to produce its massive leaf and inflorescence, or flower-bearing structure. The climate is warm and rainy, with little variance throughout the year. Although it is one of the most famous plants in the world, little is known of its natural history.

When Will It Bloom?

Nobody can predict when a Corpse Flower will bloom. A Titan Arum in bloom is as rare as it is spectacular. A plant can go for many years without flowering. When the corm comes out of dormancy and a bud emerges, it will either develop into a flower or a new leaf; it’s when we see the tip of the emerging spadix that we know a bloom will occur. Being in the right place at the right time to see one of these magnificent plants in bloom can be a once-in-a-lifetime treat!

From Jungle to Greenhouse

The Corpse Flower was first made known to the outside world by Italian botanist and explorer Odoardo Beccari in 1878. Seeds and corms brought to Italy at that time were shared with other gardens. The first flowering of the Corpse Flower in cultivation was in 1889 at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, England, from the Beccari introduction. It flowered in the Western Hemisphere for the first time at the New York Botanical Garden in 1937. Few specimens of Amorphophallus titanum were grown or flowered until the 1990s, when seeds were gathered in the wild and distributed widely among botanical gardens and private collectors. Since then, this plant has bloomed on over 500 occasions in gardens around the world.

Additional Facts

Corpse Flower Anatomy

The plant grows from a large corm, a bulb-like tuber, under the soil. The visible parts are the spadix (the fleshy upright column) and the spathe (the petal-like outer covering). When the plant blooms, the spathe opens to reveal a velvety maroon interior and begins to emit a foul stench, earning it the nickname “Stinky Plant.”

Just as notable as the size of this plant’s bloom is the odor it emits when it is ready for pollination. On the first evening the spathe opens, a cocktail of powerful chemicals is released. The inflorescence also generates heat to assist in volatilizing these chemicals. This extraordinary action by the plant makes it easier for pollinators such as sweat bees and other insects to find the flowers. In the first phase, the female flowers are receptive to pollination and in the second phase, on the second day, male flowers release their pollen after the female flowers are no longer receptive. This carefully timed arrangement helps ensure that cross-pollination and fertilization will only occur between different individual plants.

The Corpse Flower or Titan Arum is native to the rainforests of western Sumatra, Indonesia where it grows on limestone hills at low elevations, in forest openings where there is enough light and space to produce its massive leaf and inflorescence or flower-bearing structure. The climate is warm and rainy, with little variance throughout the year. Although it is one of the most famous plants in the world, little is known of its natural history.

How Big Can It Get?

The size of the Corpse Flower bloom is probably its greatest attraction. The previous tallest flowering specimen at The Huntington, in 2009, was almost seven feet tall, eclipsed by “Stankosaurus Rex” at over 8 feet tall (98 inches). The world record holder comes in at over 12 feet tall. The “tuber”, which is actually a corm, can weigh over 300 pounds and the solitary umbrella-like leaf can be over 15 feet tall. But it’s the rotting flesh smell of the flowers that makes this plant so memorable and notorious. Adding to the mystique is the ephemeral nature of such a massive flowering effort, lasting only 24–48 hours, and the rarity of seeing a specimen in bloom at any time, anywhere.

When the Titan Arum blooms, it comes straight out of the soil from an underground corm, looking like a giant bud without any foliage. But the plant does produce a single, giant leaf when it isn’t in bloom. You might not recognize it as a leaf, however: a mature plant will produce a leaf about 12 feet tall, consisting of a smooth stem topped with a fringe of leaflets, resembling a slender, green palm tree. Several of them are on display in The Huntington’s Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science. The leaf can last longer than a year before it dies away.

What is often referred to as the plant’s flower is an inflorescence, a specialized structure that supports small individual flowers. The Corpse Flower produces the most massive unbranched inflorescence of any flowering plant. In common to all members of the aroid family, (Araceae), the inflorescence consists of an outer protective sheath (the spathe) that surrounds a central column bearing small individual flowers (the spadix). Better-known members of this family include philodendrons, anthuriums, calla lilies, pothos and others.

Can I buy one? Do I have one growing in my yard?

Yes and unlikely.

There are many sources online to purchase an Amorphophallus titanum, including The Huntington’s International Succulent Introductions. This rare plant is for plant enthusiasts who want a challenge and will be committed to nearly a decade of nurturing and pampering this rare and attractive giant.

As to growing in your yard, the Corpse Flower prefers an evenly warm and humid environment such as a greenhouse. We recently received a picture from someone who had one blooming in a container in his backyard in Seal Beach! While Amorphophallus titanum is very rare, many similar, but much smaller plants can be found growing in home gardens. The closest relative most likely may be Amorphophallus rivieri, which grows to a height of about four feet and smells nearly as bad as its larger cousin. Two other related plants are the Dragon Arum (Dracunculus vulgaris), which grows to about 2-3 feet in height, and the Voodoo Lily (Sauromatum venosum), which grows to 12-18 inches in overall height. Calla lilies, anthuriums, and philodendrons are also members of the same family.