MELBOURNE, Australia — In an extraordinary event, a corpse flower, infamous for its strong odor resembling rotting flesh, has bloomed in Canberra, marking the third occurrence of this nature in Australia within the past three months. The bloom, which opened for the first time in its 15-year lifespan at the Australian National Botanic Gardens, started on Saturday and began to close by Monday, according to garden staff.
Earlier this year, another corpse flower flowered briefly at the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens, drawing a crowd of 20,000 spectators in late January. A similar display occurred in November at the Geelong Botanic Gardens, southwest of Melbourne, where large numbers also gathered to witness the rare event.
The corpse flower, scientifically known as amorphophallus titanum and referred to as bunga bangkai in its native Indonesia, is unique to the rainforests of western Sumatra. This plant typically blooms only once every 7 to 10 years in the wild, and its unpleasant odor serves to attract pollinators like flies. There are believed to be around 300 of these plants in their natural habitat and fewer than 1,000 when including cultivated specimens.
The occurrence of three corpse flowers blossoming in the span of just a few months in Australia has piqued curiosity. Carol Dale, the acting nursery manager in Canberra, mentioned that the reasons behind this unusual phenomenon remain unclear. For a corpse flower to bloom, it must have gathered sufficient energy in its underground tuber, also called a corm.
“One idea is that many of these plants are of a similar age, allowing them to have stored enough carbohydrates to flower simultaneously,” Dale explained. “Since these plants exist in different environments across Australia, it is quite unusual for them to all bloom together,” she further noted.
As for the unexpected bloom in Canberra, Dale revealed that after waiting 15 years without any signs of flowering, she had begun to believe that the local conditions, including the occasional snowfall, were unsuited for a corpse plant to flourish.
“It has been part of our collection for a longer period than what is typical for first-time flowering, so we assumed Canberra might not provide the right environment,” Dale expressed. “Therefore, it was quite a delightful surprise.”
The flowering began around midday on Saturday, and the strong odor soon filled the air. “By Saturday evening, the smell was overwhelming; we could catch a whiff from across the street. It was truly hard to bear,” Dale remarked. The greenhouse, which could accommodate only a limited number of attendees due to space restrictions, utilized a ticketing system to manage the visitors wanting to catch a glimpse of the 135-centimeter (53-inch) bloom.
Described by onlookers, the scent has been compared to an array of unpleasant things, including dead animals, rotten eggs, sweaty socks, sewage, and garbage. By Monday, Dale noted that the worst of the smell had subsided. “We gathered pollen about an hour ago, and while being up close to the plant still reveals that rotting flesh scent, it is not as intense as before,” she added.
