Overview

• 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.