Titan arum
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The titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) has the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. The largest single flower is borne by the Rafflesia arnoldii; the largest branched inflorescence in the plant kingdom is the Talipot palm (Corypha umbraculifera). Due to its fragrance, the titan arum is also known as the "Corpse plant" (in Indonesian, "bunga bangkai" – bunga means flower, while bangkai means corpse or cadaver; for the same reason, the same title is also attributed to Rafflesia which, like the titan arum, also grows in the rainforests of Sumatra).
The titan arum's inflorescence can reach over 3 metres tall, taller than a human. Like the related cuckoo pint and calla lily, it consists of a fragrant spadix of flowers wrapped by a spathe, which looks like the flower's single petal. In the case of the Titan Arum, the spathe is green on the outside and dark burgundy red on the inside, and deeply furrowed. The spadix is hollow, pale yellow and resembles a large loaf of French bread. The upper, visible portion of the spadix is covered in pollen, while its lower extremity is spangled with bright red-orange carpels. The "fragrance" of the inflorescence resembles rotting meat, attracting carrion-eating beetles and Flesh Flies (family Sarcophagidae) that pollinate it. The flower's deep red color and texture contribute to the illusion that the spathe is a piece of meat.
Both male and female flowers grow in the same inflorescence. The female flowers open first, then a day or two following, the male flowers open. This prevents the flower from self-pollinating.
After the flower dies back, a single leaf, which reaches the size of a small tree, grows from the underground corm. The leaf grows on a semi-green stalk that branches into three sections at the top, each containing many leaflets. The leaf structure can reach up to 6 m (20 ft) tall and 5 m (16 ft) across. Each year, the old leaf dies and a new one grows in its place. When the corm has stored enough energy, it becomes dormant for about 4 months. Then, the process repeats.
Cultivation
The titan arum only grows in the wild in the equatorial rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia. It was first discovered there in 1878 by Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari. The plant flowers only infrequently in the wild and even more rarely when cultivated. It first flowered in cultivation at the Royal Botanic Gardens, at Kew in London, in 1889, with around 60 cultivated blossoms since then. The first documented flowerings in the U.S. were at New York Botanical Garden in 1937 and 1939. This flowering also inspired the designation of the titan arum as the official flower of the Bronx in 1939, only to be replaced in 2000 by the day lily. The number of cultivated plants has increased in recent years, and it is not uncommon for there to be five or more flowering events in gardens around the world in a single year.Until 2005, the tallest bloom in cultivation, some 2.74 m (8 ft. 11 in.) high, was achieved at the [Botanical Gardens] of Bonn, Germany in 2003. The event was acknowledged by the Guinness Book of Records (see the [certificate]).
On 20 October 2005, this record was broken at the botanical and zoological garden Wilhelma in Stuttgart, Germany. The bloom reached a height of 2.91 m (9 ft. 6 in.).
List of recent blooms
References in Popular Culture
Appearance in the TV series episode Pirates of the Third Reich; Appearance in the animated TV series The Simpsons, episode Moe's Baby BluesExternal links
- [Titan at Huntington Botanical Gardens, California]
- [Titan at Hortus Botanicus Leiden]
- [Titan Arum at University of Wisconsin, Madison]
- [2005 Bloom]
- [2005 Bloom Slashdot discussion]
- [3D Photo of 2004 bloom at Walt Disney World] (Requires red/cyan 3D Glasses)
- [List of bloomings in the US since 1937]
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