When Is Amorphophallus Titanum in Bloom?

Features

• The shape of the flower is almost as remarkable as its stench. When the blossom is fully open, it is a gorgeous crimson color, with a fleshy spike projecting upward from its center. The spike may reach over 6 feet in height, and the lip of the blossom will have a diameter of 3 or 4 feet. The smell is both foul and overwhelming; it reaches its maximum intensity during the first 12 hours after the flower opens.

Sequel

• Once the flower blooms, it only remains open for a few days. During that period, it attracts insects which pollinate it, and afterwards its petals will close again. Meanwhile, hundreds of orange berries will start to grow around the base of the fleshy projection, generally taking six months to develop. The fleshy projection is actually the feature that earned the plant its peculiar name;" Amorpho" comes from the Greek for shapeless, and "phallus" was originally a Greek word for the male organ that migrated into English.

Blooming

• Unfortunately, nobody really knows when an A. titanum will bloom, and it only does so very infrequently -- usually at intervals that are years and years apart. Most specimens of this rare but spectacular flower are kept by various botanical gardens and universities. In California, for example, the California State University at Fullerton, the Huntington Botanical Gardens, the Quail Botanical Gardens and the University of California Botanical Gardens at Berkeley all have specimens in their collections, all of which are open for public viewing.

Finding a Bloom

• An A. titanum bloom is rare enough that when it occurs, it often attracts considerable attention, especially from local media. If you want to see A. titanum in bloom, try checking with botanical gardens in your area to find out whether they have an A. titanum in their collection. If they do, watch the news and updates from the botanical garden or other center for announcements. Although it's not possible to predict in advance when the plant will flower, the blossom starts to develop some days before it actually opens. When botanical gardens with a specimen of this plant notice it's developing a flower, they'll generally make a public announcement so you can plan ahead to be there on the day when it blooms.