Large crowds queue to see an exotic giant flower that only opens every seven to ten years and releases a disgusting smell of rotting meat.
The so-called ‘corpse flower’, which comes from Indonesia and has a botanical designation of Amorphophallus Titanum, is already in its 48-hour bloom at Geelong Botanic Gardens.
The gardens, located an hour’s drive southwest of Melbourne, have opened their greenhouse for 24 hours so everyone can see the huge purple petals and experience their unpleasant aroma.
Geelong Botanic Gardens coordinator Kellee Reissinger told Nine News she had heard the smell of the flower described as “a mix between vomit and maybe some dog faeces”.
Hundreds have already paraded past the rare flower, but for those who can’t do so in person, the venue has created a video. live broadcast.
A bloom will deplete the flower’s energy and then wilt, the plant retreating underground to build up reserves to grow and open again in another 10 years.
The odor used to attract scavenging insects comes from a group of volatile molecules produced by the plant.
These include dimethyl disulfide (garlic), dimethyl trisulfide (rotten meat), methyl thioacetate (sulfur), and isovaleric acid (cheese or sweat).
The so-called giant ‘corpse flower’, which takes 10 years to open, has bloomed at Geelong Botanic Gardens.
The smell has been described as “a mix between vomit and maybe dog feces.”
As the chemical processes heat the plant, it can sometimes even start to smoke.
Mrs. Reissinger said The age The flower attracts insects that also wish to reproduce by finding a suitable corpse.
“The insects run around, trying to find the best place to lay their eggs, and as they do, they run all over the male and female parts of the flowers,” he said.
‘They will leave disappointed, but covered in the plant’s pollen. If this were Sumatra, hopefully they would find another corpse flower to spread.”
Corpse flowers grow only naturally in the rainforests of Sumatra and Java in Indonesia, but they are an endangered species.
Their numbers are threatened by the invasion of oil palm plantations, of which it is estimated that only 1,000 remain in the wild.
Plants that only grow naturally in the Indonesian regions of Sumatra and Java are an endangered species.
The greenhouse where the flower grew will be open 24 hours a day to allow as many visitors as possible to experience this rare event.
Gardens and greenhouses around the world are trying to preserve the species.
The corpse flower in Geelong was grown from donated seed sent from the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.
Adelaide’s corpse flower bloomed last year.