Just be glad you can’t SMELL it! – The world’s largest and stinkiest flower, the Titan Arum, also known as the Corpse Flower, smells like a mixture of excrement and rotting flesh. It also has a distinctive look, with giant red petals bursting out of a tall, phallic-like stem. This native of the rainforests of Sumatra blooms very rarely, but the one housed in the Western Illinois University Botany Greenhouse has begun the blooming process, and you can watch it unfold (but thankfully not smell it) on the web.
The greenhouse’s first Titan Arum (Titan 1) bloomed on May 2nd. To watch the live videostream for Titan 3, click here. The botany team warns that the videostream connection may sometimes be affected by humidity levels, so if the video does not appear, try again later.
One thing that DOESN’T stink is this website, with our great edge news and wonderful radio shows and podcasts, but there’s only one way to keep THEM blooming: Subscribe today! Art credit: Dreamstime.com
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