Rare Corpse Flowers Bloom in Sydney and Brooklyn, Drawing Thousands

The world's largest and smelliest flowers, Amorphophallus titanum and Amorphophallus gigas, bloom in Australia and New York for the first time in years.

The corpse flower, Amorphophallus titanum, nicknamed 'Putricia,' bloomed at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney for the first time since 2010, attracting over 20,000 visitors.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden witnessed the historic bloom of Amorphophallus gigas, the first of its kind in New York City, drawing excited crowds despite its pungent odor of rotting flesh.
Corpse flowers emit their foul smell to attract pollinators like flies and beetles that are drawn to decaying matter, ensuring the plant's reproduction.
These rare blooms are short-lived, lasting only 24 to 36 hours, and occur infrequently, often taking years or even decades for the plant to gather enough energy to flower.
Native to Sumatra, Indonesia, both Amorphophallus titanum and gigas are endangered due to habitat loss, with fewer than 1,000 titanum plants estimated to remain in the wild.