Putrid scent of corpse flower draws crowds to botanical garden

Aug 27, 2023

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Patron attendance at a botanical garden in California was in full bloom recently as crowds came to see — and smell — a plant named Allan.

As one might expect, those packing The Huntington Library's botanical gardens this week were there to take a whiff of a flower that’s in bloom, KCAL(KCBS) reports.

But plant lovers beware, the smell that comes from the plant in question may not be for the faint of heart — or those who can’t handle foul smells.

Visitors to the botanical gardens in San Marino, California, which is outside of Los Angeles near Pasadena, were there to see and smell a corpse flower. The plant gets its name because it smells like rotting flesh.

On its Facebook page, The Huntington says the corpse flower, also known as an Amorphophallus titanum, is named Allan.

In the video player above: A look at the corpse flower named Allan

But don’t worry that the smell means the plant is not sick or dying. The scent, though putrid, is an evolutionary wonder.

That’s because the corpse flower uses carrion flies for pollination. The smell attracts the insects.

"'It's trying to attract carrion flies to come pollinate,” gardner Bryce Dunn told KCAL(KCBS). “So, the more it can get that smell out, the more flies it attracts, the better the plant does."

Video below: Hear from the gardener

As is evident based on the crowds at the botanical gardens, the rancid smell also attracts a lot of people with a sense of wonder.

When curious anthophiles hear a corpse flower is in bloom, they rush to the gardens where they’re located. That’s because they only bloom every few years. And when the flowers bloom, their putrid stench can only be smelled for about 48 hours.