source : the age
Black cats, crows and owls are all omens of imminent death. At Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden, a team of excited horticulturalists signals the arrival of a corpse.
A heavy metal chain locks the bodies of several “corpse flowers” (officially known as amorphophallus titanum) inside a greenhouse. One is set to bloom later this week in a rare event that will release a necrotic perfume.
Botanic Gardens of Sydney chief scientist Brett Summerell with the rare corpse flower set to bloom next week.Credit: Steven Siewert
Recounted as smelling like rotting flesh, wet socks or cat vomit, the flower blooms for just 24 hours every few years.
This is only the fifth time a corpse flower has bloomed at the Royal Botanic Garden, following events in 2010, 2008, 2004 and twice in 2006.
As the flower blooms and heats, its putrid incense attracts pollinators. Its structure then fades and dies and the pollinated seed leads to new life.
Though its smell mimics death, Botanic Gardens of Sydney chief scientist Brett Summerell said it was an unsettled debate among horticulturalists whether visitors witness the corpse’s “death”.
“Horticulturalists will talk about, ‘Is it the end of the story or the beginning?’,” he said.
“What it’s all about is the production of seed which is the beginning of a new generation.”
The death of the corpse flower leaving a seed in its wake could be referred to as its “resurrection”, Summerell said.
Sydney’s corpse flower joins a procession of recent inflorescence events in Australia. One corpse flower, nicknamed Casper, reached its full bloom on Friday in Melbourne’s south-east, following another in the Geelong Botanic Gardens in November, which attracted over 20,000 witnesses.
For decades, the Botanic Garden in Sydney has contributed to conservation efforts to protect the endangered species, which is threatened by habitat clearance and poaching in its native Indonesia.
Though its nickname is morbid, its actual name is even more curious. Amorphophallus titanum translates from Latin to “giant deformed penis”. The plant actually has both male and female organs that contribute to its macabre smell.
Summerell said the corpse was an important flower because it exemplified the ways plants had evolved to adapt to different environments and their pollinators.
“It’s a really great one to be able to talk about how clever plants are in terms of adaption to the environment and being able to continue to exist,” he said.
Although the timing of the flower’s bloom is almost as unpredictable as death itself, when it happens, the Botanic Garden will be open to the public until midnight. Entry will be via donation. A 24-hour live stream will track the metamorphosis on YouTube for those too frail, or queasy, to inhale the corpse’s rotting flesh.
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