How Often Does the Amorphophallus Titanum Bloom?
The titan arum, or giant corpse flower, (Amorphophallus titanum) attracts attention when in bloom because of its sheer size and the stench of rotting meat it emits. Discovered in Sumatra in 1878, the first titan arum grown in the Western world was at Kew Gardens, where it bloomed for the first time in 1889. When grown in containers in tropical greenhouses, the timing of flowering varies considerably. Titan arum blooms irregularly when grown this way; in its native tropical habitat it blooms every one to two years. Does this Spark an idea?
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Growth Cycle
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The titan arum grows as an herbaceous, seasonally dormant perennial. The bulblike corm sprouts a singular stemmed leaf with tall petiole that rises from 6 to 15 feet tall in spring or the start of the tropical rainy season. This is the vegetative stage, in which the plant manufactures food through photosynthesis to energize the corm. During the tropical winter or dry season, the leaf dies back and the plant rests dormant for four to six months. The next spring, the corm sprouts either a flower or a leaf again. The plant repeats the vegetative stage until the corm is sufficiently plump and healthy to produce a flower after a dormancy period.
Flowering Age
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In the wild, a sprouting titan arum seed grows in seasonal cycles from three to 10 years before producing its first flower, more appropriately called an inflorescence. According to Larry Mellichamp, professor and botanical garden director at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, it can take seven to nine years for a small corm to reach an age and size to first flower. At Mellichamp's facility, the titan arum grows in a large container, not in the ground like in a tropical jungle habitat.
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Factors Affecting Flowering
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In its native Indonesia, the titan arum prospers in the hot ,lowland climate with seasonal changes from hot and wet to warm and dry. Mellichamp notes that the plant "in captivity" grows best when summers are very humid and temperatures in the 85 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit range. An evenly moist, alkaline soil when the leaf is present is vital to plant health. During the yearly winter dormancy, slightly dry soil -- but not bone dry -- is required as well as temperatures in the 75 to 80 F range. The amount of heat, humidity, light and carbohydrates built up and stored in the corm determines whether the plant flowers or another leafy display follows the annual dormancy. Mellichamp states that in his greenhouse facility, it took six years of alternating leafy stalk and dormancy periods for a flower to finally appear.
The Flower
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When the inflorescence appears, it's impossible to miss during its six-week lifespan. Emerging 4 to 9 feet tall, it comprises a green, fleshy, central, phallic spadix with hundreds of tiny male and female flowers. Just outside of the spadix is a ruffled, V-shaped spathe that is wine-burgundy in color. The inflorescence stinks, attracting carrion beetle and flesh fly pollinators in Indonesia. The inflorescence itself is short-lived during the receptive flowering and stinky stage, open one or two days at most before it collapses.
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