Several readers have informed me of a rare botanical event happening in Basel, Switzerland. You should go immediately to have a gander at a very rare—and ephemeral—flower shown on a webcam at the University of Basel.
It’s an Amorphophallus titanum from Sumatra, loosely translated as “giant misshapen penis,” a concupiscent but accurate descriptor. Isn’t it lovely?
This species has the world’s tallest flower structure, reaching up to 3 meters. It flowers only very rarely, though, so this event in Switzerland is a must-see.
Unfortunately, like the world’s largest flower, Rafflesia arnoldii, it smells like a decaying corpse. That’s to attract flies and beetles which, thinking it’s a dead mammal, come to feed—and pollinate it as a byproduct.
The flower remains open for only a day or two, though it takes several weeks to grow. The Basel site gives time-lapse photographs, showing the flower beginning to appear at the end of March.
You can see other pictures of a 2009 bloom here, from which these pictures were taken.
23 Comments
Whatever happened to botanical family values and the regard for decency?
I desperately hope this is the article that refutes Rule 34.
Titanum indeed.
I wonder if the namer of this species was carrying on the tradition of Linnaeus (founder of modern taxonomy) with the salacious name? Linnaeus was a bit obsessed with sex by all accounts, even naming one genus of plants Clitoria apparently.
But apparently the botanist Rumpf shares the blame for that one; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clitoria
Bill Bryson lied to me then!
He quotes Linnaeus in his A Short History. Oh well…
Orchids to that!
FTW!
Thanks for the botanical post Jerry. It is an amazing “flower.” But if I can be a botanical pendant for moment – that large structure is really not a flower but a collection of much smaller flowers (technically a “Spadix”). So Raflessia really is larger in all senses.
Right you are. I’ve changed “flower” to “flower structure.”
Was God having an off-day when she created this?
Or at least a bit bored and perhaps lonely?
Oh, my. You’re getting as bad as PZ.
Truly a wondrous spectacle.
Kew has a couple of fine specimens, I have never managed to catch it live in flower, but this is what the poor thing looks like after the party is over
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bric_uk/507354286/
I would go gay for that flower.
We had a monster like that here in Fairchild Gardens (Miami) a couple of years ago. Not Quite as large maybe, but big. .
Lords and Ladies..? Araceae? Does this one produce berry-like ‘fruits’?
Yes, big red ones.
There is an A. titanum in bloom at Ohio State University right now, though today is probably the last day of bloom. It too has a webcam. You can see the single, tree-sized, heavily divided leaf of another individual in the background with a yellow sign on it.
Yeah, right…
Great link! Thanks!
A local nurseryman, Tony Avent, here in NC, loves Aroids and has quite a few Amorphophallus available by mail order. No A. titanum yet, but perhaps one day he will.
The nursery is called Plant Delights. See his Voodoo Lily page here: http://www.plantdelights.com/Amorphophallus/products/49/
By the way, his catalog is well worth reading even if you don’t want to buy. Tony is well-known for his humor.
Lynn, THANKS for that link! I love sites like that!!
in my country Indonesia
we have it too..
its name Rafflesia arnoldii
One Trackback/Pingback
[...] http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/monster-flower-blooming-in-switzerland/ GA_googleAddAttr("AdOpt", "1"); GA_googleAddAttr("Origin", "other"); [...]