A Bit Of A Stink

In 1878 while exploring the jungles of Sumatra Florentine botanist, Odoardo Beccari, came across a plant with the largest unbranched flower. With its spadix, the central structure of the flower, growing up to 12 feet tall the spadix, Beccari called it Amorphiphallus titanum.

The plant and its name might have become just a botanical curiosity but for the fact that its seeds were sent to botanical gardens around the world and flourished. They caused a sensation every time they flowered not only because of the size of the spadix but also because the flower emitted a putrid smell. It was rather akin to the smell of rotting flesh and was intended to attract flies and carrion beetles upon whom the flower relied for pollination. It is also called the corpse plant.

Crowds would gather to view this unusual sight and appreciate the aroma, bringing with it a bit of a problem. The genus name of Amorphiphallus caused another type of stink, being deemed to be a little risqué for the innocent minds of children. Sir David Attenborough rode to the rescue, coining the name Titan Arum, which is now normally used to describe the plant to save the public’s blushes.