UPDATE - 12 January

The corpse flower bloomed and emitted its foul odour on 9 and 10 January 2023.

The flower has now withered and the smell has gone.

by Carla Caruso

Park lovers have been sharing their excitement as they await a rare flower’s stinky bloom at the Adelaide Botanic Garden (Park 11).

The corpse flower or titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) is within the garden’s Bicentennial Conservatory - and trying to predict when it’ll let off its short-lived yet powerful stench is part of the fun.

The last such flower, showcased to the public, occurred in pre-Covid times of 2018, attracting crowds of 10,000-plus people.

The plant is endemic to rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia, and is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants. The propagation of the corpse flower at the Botanic Gardens of South Australia contributes to the global conservation of this unique plant.

According to a statement from the Botanic Gardens of South Australia: “Once this rare and endangered Indonesian marvel reaches its peak flower bloom, it gives off a smell of rotting flesh to attract pollinators to its impressive flower.

“The plant has been propagated using leaf cuttings of an already established titan arum plant and, as a result, will produce a smaller but no less smelly flower than in previous years.

“It’s free to experience the flower at Adelaide Botanic Garden when it reaches its full bloom, with the stinkiest period coming in the first 24 hours of flowering.”

Instagrammer ‘Bottlo74’ snapped this photo of the plant on January 4. As he told us: “[The flower] didn’t have an odour yet. It looks like it still has a little way to go before opening.”

Local photographer Fran Mussared also shared the story on Instagram, to demonstrate her anticipation:

The plant’s leaf cycle process means it can take up to a decade for it to gather enough energy to produce a flower for the first time. Then it can take the plant three to five years for another flower to emerge - which is what makes such events so rare and exciting.

In a flowering cycle, the titan arum will produce what looks like a huge flower - some can be over 2m tall. In truth, the dark crimson, petal-like structure is a modified leaf, and the pointy part at the centre is known as the ‘spathe’. Inside the base of the spathe, hundreds of the tiny, real flowers are hidden.

The spathe’s smell, once it’s unveiled, can spread as far as 5km, enabling it to be detected by insects far and wide. (For more information on the plant, head here, or stay updated on its blooming status here.)

Also causing a stir at the garden recently – for its prettiness rather than its odour – has been the blooming of the sacred lotus at Nelumbo Pond. As the Botanic Gardens’ page says: “You might have binged on [TV show] White Lotus over the festive period, but now it’s time to see our pink lotus flowers.”

Parkgoer Sue Lewis captured the stunning images below.