Titan arum returns to London: blooming of the corpse flower leads to a flood of visitors

Kew Gardens Botanical Garden in the capital of England has become the center of attention for visitors as the titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum), considered one of the world's largest and rarest flowers, has bloomed once again. This giant plant, which originates from the Indonesian rainforests, is popularly known as the 'corpse flower.' Its most prominent feature is the intense and sharp odor it emits, which resembles rotting meat.

Hundreds of people who heard that the flower had bloomed formed queues at the botanical garden's greenhouses. Visitors described the plant's unique scent with various comparisons, such as 'dirty socks' or 'dog breath.' For some, this unpleasant odor only increased their interest rather than diminishing it; everyone wanted to catch this extraordinary experience.

Scientists state that the intense odor emitted by the titan arum evolved to attract pollinators in nature. Therefore, the scent released by the flower plays a key role in the plant's reproductive strategy. The fact that the blooming process is quite short also created a separate excitement among botany enthusiasts. The giant flower, which remains open for approximately 48 hours, then begins to wilt rapidly.

Sharing his impressions during the event, chemical engineer Joe Frewin stated that the plant was much more imposing than he had expected and that the odor was not as disturbing as he had thought.

Because the titan arum blooms once a year or sometimes at longer intervals, each blooming period is met with great interest by both the scientific community and nature lovers.