Titan Arum - Corpse Flower
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World's Largest "Flower" has a home at the Milwaukee Public Museum
The Museum's Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus titanum) is native to the rain forests of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The plant's giant tuber usually produces a leaf up to 20 feet tall. When conditions are right, it sends up a large "flower" that can reach heights of eight feet or more. The flower (technically a cluster of flowers) emits a putrid odor of rotting flesh to attract pollinators during the two days it is open. Our plant was obtained in August, 2002. It came from a seed produced by University of Wisconsin-Madison's "Big Bucky."
MPM's Titan Arum, when in bloom, is on display in the museum's Puelicher Butterfly Wing, on the first floor.