Foul-odored flower, world’s largest, blooms in NY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfV5K_uJ-iM

A gigantic flower in New York has lured tourists–not for its fragrance but for its putrid odor likened to a rotting animal.

On Friday, visitors swarmed the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) to take a sight of the “corpse flower” (amorphophallus titanium), the largest in the world. The rare flower blooms every seven to 10 years and releases a foul scent for 24 to 36 hours.

Upon blooming, the “corpse flower” stretches up to eight feet in height and shines in a vibrant red color.

“This unique plant is unpredictable—it may be in flower for only one or two days,” NYBG said in a statement.

According to local news sites, the flower has been nested at the garden since 2007. On July 15, horticulturists noticed a tiny bud on the plant and after a few days, it displayed the rare flower.

Because of the flower’s “corpse-like” odor, beetles and flies are lured to lay their eggs on the flower, snatching the flower’s pollen with them, National Geographic reported.

This kind of flower first bloomed in the Western side of the world in June 1937.  Gianna Francesca Catolico