A rare “corpse flower”, with the scent of decaying flesh, attracts crowds in Warsaw; watch | Scientist

A crowd waited for hours in line to see the rare, rapid bloom of the Sumatran giant titan, also known as the dead flower, at the University of Botanic Gardens. Warsaw, On PolandOn Sunday and Monday (14).

The flower, which smells like decomposing flesh to attract pollinating carnivorous insects, began decomposing on Monday.

Visitors view the rare bloom of Sumatran arum tetam, or dead flower, at Warsaw University Botanical Garden on Sunday (13) – Photo: AP Photo/Monika Scislowska

Those who wanted to avoid the streaks – and the stench – were able to watch the whole process live in a video made available by the University of Warsaw. Those who choose to go to the botanical garden in person can quickly go through the plant and take a picture.

Also known as Amorphophallus titanum, it has the largest flowering plant without branches in the world, which can reach a height of three meters. Its blooms are rare and unpredictable and can take years in between.

Visitors view the rare bloom of Sumatran arum tetam, or dead flower, at Warsaw University Botanical Garden on Sunday (13) – Photo: AP Photo/Monika Scislowska

The plant only grows wild in the rainforests of Sumatra, but is in danger of extinction there due to deforestation. Planting in the botanical gardens, where they are a major attraction for visitors, has helped to preserve them.

Its first known flowering outside of Sumatra was in 1889 at the Royal Botanic Gardens in London, Kew.