It Might Smell Like Somebody Died at the Botanical Garden

This may not be the best weekend to stop and smell the roses. 

 

The New York Botanical Garden's Amorphophallus titanum, commonly known as the corpse flower, is set to bloom this weekend.

 

Director of the Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections, Marc Hachadourian, explained the plant's morbid nickname. "The reason why it's called the corpse flower is that when the flower opens, [the sent] actually has been likened to rotting flesh. It actually has a horrible, horrible fragrance which is all evolved to attract pollinators like flies and beetles that feed on carion."

 

He should know. Hachadourian said he had both the pleasure and pain of smelling one at a different botanical garden. "It's a little sharp on the nose."

 

Now he gets to relive that experience here in New York. He explained that this particular specimen was being cultivated for the past ten years. "We got the plants as small seedlings and it's taken us about ten years to get them back up to blooming size. This is the first one to get to that point." He said it takes so long for the flower to bloom because the bloom itself is six feet tall, making the corpse flower one of the largest in the world. "It needs a lot of time to store up enough energy to produce such a huge flower."

 

Hachadourian went on to say that the corpse flower will only stay in bloom for about three to four days. "It's a lot of work for a short period of time." He explained that the infamous scent will be at its most pungent - i.e. smell the absolute worst - when the flower initially opens. He finds it interesting that the scent is actually not constant. "The fragrance is released in pulses, in these puffs of strong, strong, rotting odor."

 

To help the smell dissipate and aide in attracting carion-hungry pollinators, Hachadourian said the corpse flower actually rises in temperature. "If you touched it, it would actually feel hot."

 

Hachadourian said he was surprised by how many people asked him if the stench would stick to them, like being sprayed by a skunk or eating garlic-heavy foods. Those interested in seeing - and smelling - the corpse flower need not to worry about that. Hachadourian gave his word: "It might stick in your nose but it won't stick to your clothes."

 

The corpse flower is predicted to bloom sometime this weekend. To help keep visitors updated, the Garden has a live video stream of the flower on www.nybg.org. 

 

UPDATE: The New York Botanical Garden is now saying the flower will most likely bloom on Sunday or Monday.