Howdy Y’all! Don’t let the title alarm you! This post will not be as creepy as the title may lead you to think. Of corpse, it would be a grave error to think I’m not going to throw some Halloween jokes into this post (see what I did there). I went back and forth for a while to decide if this post should fall under a “Botanical Travel” or “Plant Bio” post, because it is both! Last weekend, I had the chance to travel Oklahoma City’s Myriad Gardens to see the rare occurrence of their Corpse Flower bloom for the first time! Obviously, I had to share this epic botanical travel with you guys! So let’s channel our inner Halloween spirit, and learn about this zombie-esque flower!
General Facts about Corpse Flower
Let’s start with some general facts about this titan flower to kick off this deep dive into the Corpse Flower. Funny enough, I bet you own a cousin of this ghoulish flower! “But Michelle, none of my house plants have creepy names?” Well, you may remember a post I did last year about a certain little plant, sometimes referred to as the “Devil’s Ivy”. That’s right, just like the Pothos, the Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus titanum) is part of the Aracea family.
The Corpse Flower is native to the rainforests of Western Sumatra and Indonesia. This titan arum is the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world and holds a record of 12′ tall! Now for the question, I know that’s been nagging at you: why is it called a Corpse Flower? Well, that would be due to its odor. Basically, the flower smells like a rotting corpse. No real way to sugar coat that one. The main pollinators for this gargantuan flower are carrion beetles and flesh flies. To attract these creepy crawlies, the flower produces an odor that mimics the state of decomposition. Gross. I know. The smell is potent enough for pollinators to smell it up to an acre away.
About the Bloom
Unlike many flowering plants, the Corpse Flower does not have an annual bloom cycle. The plant has an underground tuber, called a corm. The corm will only produce a spike once it has gathered enough energy. Its unpredictable to know when enough energy has accumulated for the plant to begin its flower cycle. Typically, the first flower cycle will begin anywhere from 7 to 10 years from seedling. Prior to the flower cycle, the plant will be in a leaf cycle.
Leaf cycle
When in the leaf cycle, the plant will grow a large, complex leaflet that reaches roughly 15 feet tall. After about 12 to 18 months, this leaf stock will die back and become dormant again for typically 6 months. Once the correct amount of warm temperatures and humidity occurs, the plant will again enter the leaf cycle. It will continue this repetition, until it has enough energy stored to begin its flower cycle.
Flower cycle
When the flower cycle begins, the corpse flower produces a large spike. Roughly a week before the bloom opens, you can see the frills on the spathe, which indicates it will soon open. You can tell the flower is getting close to opening if you start to see flies on it. No joke! The bloom of the flower will only remain open for 48 hours. Now, while the Corpse Flower looks like one giant flower, its not. As I mentioned previously, it’s an inflorescence. This is a cluster of flowers arranged on a stem. Female flowers will be receptive to pollen on the first day of bloom. The horticulturalist will use this time to take a small paint brush and gently brush pollen onto the flowers. They do this to help prevent self pollination from the male flowers. Better genetic diversity and all that jazz.
After this 48 hour window, the plant will begin to die back. Unlike the Centuray Plant, which dies after it blooms, the Corpse Flower will go dormant for 4 years before blooming again. The cycle will just keep repeating!
History of The Corpse flower
Italian Botanist, Odoardo Beccari, discovered the flower on an expedition in the rainforests of Sumatra in 1878. Although, I’m sure we can use the term “discover” loosely, as I’m sure local Sumatran people knew of it. Although the tubers Becarri sent back to Florence did not survive, some seeds cultivated at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England, became the first flower to bloom in cultivation in 1889! The Western hemisphere experienced its first bloom in 1937 at the New York Botanical Garden. Then in a spectacular phenomenon, three corpse flowers bloomed in July 2021 at The Huntington Library.
There have been over 500 blooms of the Corpse Flower in cultivated settings! However, this amazing plant is actually listed as Endagered on the IUNC, with a decline of 50% in the past 150 years. It is estimated that less than 1,000 are still in the wild. This is why the genetic diversity I mentioned earlier is critical, so that the species doesn’t bottleneck. If you’re wondering what the main culprit is to the decline of this amazing plant, logging & palm oil plantations would be the answer.
If you’re interested in helping to stop the deforestation of the Sumatrian Rainforests, here are 5 easy things to do:
Myriad Garden’s Corpse Flower
As you may know, I love OKC for all the awesome botanical adventures you can go on. One major destination on that list is the Myriad Gardens, located in the heart of OKC. Well, this past week their Corpse Flower bloomed for the first time! I saw on Instagram that they announced the exciting news of their corpse flower blooming. I immediately texted my boyfriend that we had to go to Oklahoma City! Thankfully, he is sweet and agreed to go with me (a.k.a he drove). Unfortunately, we actually missed the official bloom by less than 24 hours (Hey, I did mention they are unpredictable in their blooms). Regardless, it was awesome to be that close to the flower! They had a live stream, so not all was lost! I still got to virtually watch the flower bloom!
Myriad’s Corpse Flower officially bloomed April 3rd at 5pm! In Corpse Flower tradition, they named their flower Crystal after the Crystal Bridge Conservatory at the Gardens. This may just be for the OG readers of the blog (back in the Cherry Blossom 56 days) that I had previously seen another Corpse Flower in Galveston, TX whose name was Mortica! I think finding out the names of the flowers is half the fun! You know what they say: Plants grow better when you name them! This bloom has been a long time in the making. Nate Tschaenn, the horticulture director of the Myraid Garden, got Crystal as a seed 8.5 years ago!
Similar Plants
If you missed Crystal’s bloom, there will always be her next expected bloom in 4 years! However, if you’re wishing you had a Corpse Flower of your own, I got you covered! As I mentioned earlier, the Corpse Flower is endangered, but you can still create a gothic garden with similar plants!
- Amorphophallus rivieri (Umbruella Arum): This plant is hardy in USDA zones 6-11. This flower also produces a nasty odor, and prefers shade and light sun. These plants are available online, and will be perfect for a garden party when you don’t want your visitors to stay long!
- Sauromatum venosum ( Voodoo Lily): This plant is hardy in USDA zone 6-10. This plant is probably the definition of alien like. I feel like the name Voodoo Lily fits it perfectly, because I could easily see this in a Voodoo store in New Orleans! These bad boys also prefer shade, reaches about 3 feet tall, and flowers in early spring.
- Dracunculus vulgaris (Dragon Lily): This plant is hardy in USDA zones 6-8. It is native to the eastern Mediterranean. It prefers moist soil and is a beautiful deep purple color!
All these plants are part of the Arecea family, like the Corpse Flower, and are readily available to purchase! Am I over here realizing that I might just grow one of these bad boys in my apartment? Why yes, yes I am… I’ll keep y’all posted on that!
Well, that wraps up the botanical travel turned plant bio post all about Myriad Garden’s Corpse Flower! I hope this post has inspired you to visit your nearest botanical garden the next time one of these amazing flowers is in bloom!