Nature lovers and curious visitors are flocking to the University of Warsaw’s botanical gardens for a rare and fleeting encounter with one of the world’s strangest botanical spectacles: the blooming of a titan arum, better known as the “corpse flower.”
Image: Ogród Botaniczny Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego/Facebook
This exotic plant, native to the rainforests of Sumatra, is infamous not only for its sheer size and dramatic appearance but also for its pungent odour—often likened to the stench of rotting flesh.
A once-in-years experience
The botanical gardens confirmed early Tuesday morning that their titan arum began blooming overnight—only the second time it has done so in its life. The previous bloom occurred four years ago. In the wild or captivity, this species can take up to a decade between flowerings, as told by Notes From Poland.
To accommodate the surge in visitors, the university has extended its garden opening hours to 10 p.m. and launched a live stream on YouTube, allowing people around the world to witness the rare bloom virtually.
Towering, colourful—and smelly
The flower now stands at an impressive 1.8 metres tall (5 feet, 11 inches), significantly larger than during its last blooming event. It began to open around 1 a.m. and reached full bloom eight hours later.
During flowering, the plant heats up to about 37°C (99°F) and emits a powerful odour similar to decomposing meat. This unusual mechanism attracts flies and beetles that feed on or lay eggs in carrion, which in turn helps pollinate the plant.
A race against time
Botanical staff had been monitoring the plant closely after it underwent a rapid growth spurt—from 80cm on 19 July to 181cm by 4 August. Experts had anticipated the bloom to occur in early August based on these signs.
“In its natural habitat, the plant can even reach 3 metres in height,” noted university botanists, who also warned that the window to witness this event is very brief.
“Visitors wishing to see the rare spectacle should do so quickly, because the plant only blooms for up to a few days,” the staff told Polsat News.
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