Thursday, June 26
The “misshapen phallus”: World’s largest flower goes into bloom
The time has come. Over the next few days, at the Botanical Garden in Berlin, the Amorphophallus titanum housed in the Large Tropical House will open its several-metre-high inflorescence and provide visitors with one of the most spectacular and rare sights in the plant kingdom — along with an almighty stench.
This is the world’s largest flower. It blooms only once every few years, lasts just a couple of days, and is a night bloomer — meaning that the plant unfurls its outer leaves in the afternoon to reveal its enormous central structure. On the first night, the flower emits an intense, foul odour, resembling carrion or rotting meat. For this reason, the plant is sometimes referred to as the “corpse flower”. This smell attracts insects, which arrive to lay their eggs in what they mistake for a decaying animal. In doing so, they pollinate the female part of the flower. On the second night, the male flowers open and release their pollen, while the plant raises the temperature in its central “cob” to help spread the scent even further. After this phase, the odour fades over the following days.
The name of the plant gives some insight into its dramatic appearance. Amorphophallus titanum is a Greek–Latin composite. Amorpho- comes from Greek: a- meaning “without” or “lacking”; morphē meaning “shape” or “form”; and phallos meaning “phallus” or “penis”. Titanum, meanwhile, comes from Latin, meaning “giant” or “of the Titans”. In essence, the name of the flower translates to “giant misshapen penis”. And it stinks like death.
Tickets cost €10. Get them while they last.
