Hundreds of green-thumbed enthusiasts descended on Kew Gardens in London this week to catch a glimpse of a rare bloom of the ‘world smelliest flower’.
The towering three-metre Sumatran plant can take a staggering 12 years to muster up enough energy to bloom for the very first time .
So fans were sent into overdrive this week when Kew Gardens announced one of its plants had bloomed.
They flocked to the Royal Botanic Gardens- despite the plant leaving the attraction smelling far from a bed of roses.
For the likes of cockroaches and flies, the disgusting smell of the Titan arum is something quite tantalising – but humans may feel quite the opposite.
Despite its repugnant stench people emerged in their droves having travelled hours to see the famed-plant in all it’s glory – with some even missing work.
Jake Craid, 62, who has always had a fascination for plants – particularly the carnivorous kind – made a staggering hour an a half journey from Kennington.
He told : ‘It smells like rotten meat like when you open a steak and think oh no thank you I am not eating that.’
The green-thumbed enthusiast was eager to see the plant having previously attempted to grow an Armophophallus bulbifer [Devil’s Tongue] of his own before it tragically rotted.
‘I have heard about [the Titan arum] flowering most years and I know historically it didn’t used to but now you have more,’ he added.
Explaining why he made the trek to Kew, he said: ‘I know this isn’t but I have always liked carnivorous plants and the sinister side of gardening.
‘I had never seen one before. I am very glad it isn’t over as I thought it would be flowering at the weekend and I was tied up in the early part of the week.
He added: ‘I was quite pleased I got to see it.’
Admiring the astonishing – yet smelly – plant’s towering stature he remarked: ‘It’s spectacular.’
Another keen plant fan patiently waiting to catch a glimpse of the foul smelling organism had even missed work just for a whiff.
‘I called and told my work that it was in fact a once unavoidable event that had happened I haven’t told them what,’ Zoe chuckled.
‘It only happens once every ten years. It’s very exciting.’
Zoe – alongside her sister Charlotte – travelled two hours from the Oxford area at 8am Wednesday morning after spotting the rare event on Facebook.
Also known as the ‘corpse flower’ the Titan arum is one of the smelliest plants on Earth.
They are typically found in the rainforests of Sumatra, however are currently endangered due to land degradation as well as deforestation.
Botanic gardens – including Kew Gardens – play an essential role in preserving the species.
They release their repugnant odour to attract insects consume flesh.
They then release the pollen covered creatures in the hopes they will be duped by another foul smelling plant.
The flowers are both male and female at the base of the spadix.
During the inflorescence stage female Titan arums will grow bright red and orange fruits.
They can reach heights of eight feet and bloom once every seven to ten years.
After they bloom their flowering dies, and they return to a single leaf like structure.
Source: Kew Gardens and The Cleveland Zoo Society
After spotting the rare event on her Facebook news feed, she alongside her sister Charlotte made the two
‘I missed the other one that bloomed and I didn’t realise they had a second one. So we are here to smell the plant and see it in all its glory.’
Zoe, who had been to see Girls Aloud only the night before, was concerned she would miss out on seeing the stinky plant.
‘I was really worried it was going to be over because in the first 24 hours,’ she shared.
‘But I spoke to my sister and she said: ‘”You have to go and see the plant – don’t go to work it’s not worth it.”‘
One woman had journeyed over an hour from Finchley to witness the ‘rotting meat’ like plant in all it’s glory
Charlotte, 40, said: ‘I wasn’t to keen to catch the smell – to see it yes – but not particularly the smell.
‘It’s magnificent. It’s definitely worth the hour journey just to view the plant and to come here and be in the buzzing atmosphere.
Staff at Kew Gardens predicted the ‘corpse flower’ would bloom on Monday due to its unusual vile stench.
And they were right – as early on Tuesday the flower began to bloom in the Princess of Wales Conservatory, as workers could smell ‘rotting vegtables’ when they entered.
‘I can tell as soon as I open the door of the glass house that the flower is open,’ Kew Gardens glass house manager Tom Pickering, told The Times.
‘As soon as you open the door, you’re hit by an awareness of its presence.’
However the disgusting smell emanating from the plant will diminish nearly as quickly as it began, as it’s bloom lasts between 12 and 36 hours.
The Titan arum – which bloomed earlier this week – is one of three of the species cultivated at the famed London gardens.
Last week another ‘corpse flower’ blossomed, meaning it has been a small but crucial period for botanist at Kew.
The bloom is important so that specialist can collect pollen whilst also fertilising the plant with frozen pollen.
As another Titan arum bloomed last week staff were able to fertilise the most recent plant with fresh pollen.
The seeds can be given to other botanical gardens dotted around the country and planted so more of the smelly plants can flourish.
But it begs the question – why is the Titan arum stench so off-putting? The organism warms up and extends its rancid smell of rotting flesh outwards to the jungle.
In turn, insects scurry towards the plant under the assumption a chunk of smelly decaying flesh is waiting.
Horticulturist, Brie Langley told the Times: ‘It traps them in there until it knows they have pollen on. It’s very manipulative.’
The pollen insects are then released into the wild in the hopes they may be duped by another stinky plant.
Pungent plants have been attracting the masses to Kew for over a 135 years, with the first Titan arum blooming at Kew in 1889.
When the organism flowered for the second time in 1928, the crowds were so large police had to be called to keep them under control.