Titan Arum flowered

The Titan Arum, Amorphophallus titanum, has flowered at the Botanic Garden.

Also known as the corpse flower, the titan arum heats up on the first night of full flowering to produce a stench of rotting flesh that attracts carrion beetle pollinators over vast distances.

Native to Sumatra in Indonesia, the titan arum produces one of the largest single flowering structures in the world. Flowering is a very rare event, last happening here over a decade ago. When the creamy nose of the flowering structure emerged on 6 July, it took the Garden by surprise as the corm from which it grows is under the minimum flowering weight of 15kg. The flowering structure opened fully on 18 July, and over 10,000 visitors came to see it over 4 days.  A webcam was made available which proved incredibly popular.

For more information see the Garden's website at www.botanic.cam.ac.uk.