Reply
Wed 25 Aug, 2004 09:47 am
A giant flower which emits a nauseating stench of rotting flesh is on the verge of blooming, botanists said.
The Titan Arum, which at two metres high boasts the largest flower stalk in the world, has been nurtured at Cambridge University's Botanic Garden for the past 20 years.
Famed for its size, the flower is also renowned for its hideous smell which is said to be a cross between burnt sugar and rotting flesh.
Why is it that each time one of these wretched things bloom it gets so much press? I know it only blooms every 20 years but that once in 20 years too often!
Bloomed in Pasadena when I lived there. Way cool.
Mmmm....rotting flesh creme brulee smell....
One of these disgusting things was at Wellesley College a few years ago. It was close to blooming and it reeked! Fortunately, it has never bloomed since.
" Feed me, Seymour! "
~~Little Shop of Horrors
theres a flower that grows in the desert somewhere out there...
that only blooms once every hundred years
i dont think it smells either and its called something like the centenary flower...
century flower? I don't think it's supposed to smell badly. There are many different rotten flesh-smelling flowers. None so extraordinary as this one, but there is a whole family called voodoo lily.
there are trees in NY that shed stinky fruit in the fall.
the fruit falls to the ground and bursts open on the sidewalk... very uncool!
far out
well you learn somthing new every day
Here are some voodoo lilies (amorphophallus)
As the latin names suggests, people tend to think they're phallic.
i couldnt guess why
so littlek, you flower expert you
do you have a picture of a stinky flower for me/us? save me searching the web?
Your titan arum is also a Amorphophallus, it seems.
hehe must be a big one then
is it the 'king dong' of Amorphophalli?
Quote:Century Plants bloom only once in their life, the blooming spike is so large and grows so fast that it saps all the resources of the plant, which then dies, leaving a tall wooden seed stalk. The plant is called the "century plant" because of this "once a century" bloom (actually the plant lives an average of 25 years). It was also an important plant to indigenous people, being used for medicines, fiber, needles, and food.
Agave is the plant used to make tequila.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace