Fascinated by the bizarre? How about the smelly?
A rare “corpse flower” is about to bloom at McKee Botanical Garden in Vero Beach, and you can watch.
Without the threat of its rather pungent stench.
➤ Florida’s rare, endangered corpse flower is about to bloom
Nicknamed Princess Pungent, the flower is expected to bloom at any moment. The garden is livestreaming so the public can watch the rare event.
Here’s how you can watch and what makes a corpse flower unique.
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How to watch corpse flower live stream in Vero Beach, Florida
“Follow McKee Botanical Garden as we closely monitor the blooming of one of the world’s rarest and most extraordinary plants, the Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum), commonly known as the ‘Corpse Flower,'” the garden posted on its website.
What is a corpse flower?
The titan-arum, or corpse flower, is native to the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Its flower spike is the largest unbranched flower structure in the plant kingdom, according to the New York Botanical Garden.
Similar to a calla-lily and anthurium, “it’s often called corpse flower because when it blooms, it emits a powerful stench similar to that of rotting meat. This scent … attracts insect pollinators that feed on dead animals.”
Corpse flower smell ‘smacks you across the face’
“Nicknamed for its smell, the corpse flower emits an odor that mimics rotting flesh when it blooms, according to phys.org.
“A clever evolutionary trick, the pungent odor attracts flies and carrion beetles, the plant’s primary pollinators.
“Usually, you have to get close to a flower to be able to smell it,” said Olivia Murrell, who led a study into the flower’s ancestry published in the Annals of Botany.
“That is not true for the corpse flower. The second you walk into its greenhouse, its smell smacks you across the face. It’s very strong. The plant also heats up when it blooms, which spreads its smell farther.”
How often does a corpse flower bloom?
The corpse flower blooms for just two to three days once every two to three years, according to the U.S. Botanic Garden.
Titan-arum blooms are rare and unpredictable. Each plant takes seven years or more to store enough energy to bloom for the first time, according to the New York Botanical Garden.
The bloom can grow up to 9 feet tall.
Corpse flower classified as endangered
There are estimated to be fewer than 1,000 corpse flowers remaining in the wild, with some models suggesting the number of known wild individuals could be as low as 162, according to The U.S. Botanic Garden.
“In addition to the wild population, there are approximately 1,200 managed corpse flowers living in captivity across global botanical institutions.”
Cheryl McCloud is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://tcpalm.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Corpse flower livestream. Watch it open in Florida, without the smell
Reporting by Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
