The rare titan arum — fittingly dubbed a corpse flower — is on display and in bloom at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe.
The well-known corpse flower on display on June 8, 2024, at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. Tony Holland gawked at the sprawling flower, which jutted more than 6 feet above him. Its distinct, rancid odor cut through the air, like rotting flesh. It was Holland’s dream come true.
The plant emits the rotten stench to attract its natural pollinators, carrion beetles and flesh flies. Amid a crowd of curious visitors, 5-year-old Sally Uttech crinkled her nose.The Botanic Garden has housed titan arums since 2003, and now nurtures 18 of the endangered species. They’re native to rugged rainforests on Sumatra, an Indonesian island along the equator. Most of the remaining plants are cultivated inside gardens around the world.
The titan arum currently in bloom for the third time, named Sumatra, last flowered in 2017. A second flower, Spike, is set to bloom for the fourth time in the coming week. In years when the flower isn’t in bloom, it sprouts a massive leaf, which stretches up to 15 feet in the air. Dozens huddled around the two titan arums on a recent morning, which sat inside wooden planters. Many visitors took photos beside them. Others dared to whiff the plant as they approached.
Travis VanZuiden, 37, and Veronica Spriggs, 38, decided to drive three hours from Iowa just to catch a glimpse of the plant. It lived up to their expectations.
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