Corpse Flower
Amorphophallus titanum · Plant
The titan arum, nicknamed corpse flower, produces the largest unbranched inflorescence in the plant kingdom. It blooms rarely and only for a day or two.
Key facts
- Scientific name
- Amorphophallus titanum
- Kind
- Plant
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN EN)
- Habitat
- Rainforest clearings
- Range
- Western Sumatra, Indonesia
- Size
- Bloom up to 3 m tall
- Weight
- Underground corm can exceed 100 kg
- Lifespan
- Lives for decades; blooms every few years
- Diet
- Photosynthesis
- Activity
- Blooms for 24–48 hours
- Population
- Fewer than 1,000 in the wild (IUCN, 2018)
Diet
A single giant leaf feeds an underground corm that stores the energy needed for its huge bloom.
Behavior
During bloom it warms itself and releases a smell of rotting flesh to attract carrion beetles and flies. Not to be confused with Rafflesia, which shares the nickname.
Classification
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Phylum
- Tracheophyta
- Class
- Liliopsida
- Order
- Alismatales
- Family
- Araceae
- Genus
- Amorphophallus
- Species
- A. titanum
Conservation
Endangered: rainforest clearing in Sumatra has reduced it to small, scattered populations.
Main threats
- Deforestation
- Small populations