INDONESIA: Visitors enjoy blooming Titan Arum -- world's giant corpse flower.

Visitors flocked to Indonesia's Bogor Botanical Gardens to catch a glimpse of the Titan Arum in bloom on Saturday (July 8, 2006). Ignoring its foul and pungent odour which contributes to its more popular name as the world's giant corpse flower, visitors enjoyed the rare opportunity to view it up close. Native to the rain forest of Sumatra, Titan Arum blossom remains open for only about 24 to 48 hours and the flower only blooms every four years - sometimes longer when in cultivation. The blooming Titan Arum at the Bogor Botanical Garden has become somewhat of a miracle as scientists once thought that it had died. "We actually thought that this corpse flower had withered in 2005 because it did not show any sign of living for 15 years. But at the end of May and early June this year it began to show signs of blooming. It did and we can witness (the miracle)," said Bogor Botanical Garden's researcher, Mery Susana. The Titan Arum (Amorphophalluls titanum), first discovered in 1878 by Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari, gives out its rotting stench from the bloom to attract carrion eating beetles, flies, and bees that pollinate it. The spathe's deep red colour is believed to give the illusion of a piece of meat. "We were hoping to see the flower in full bloom, when it's much brighter red but the spathe is now closing up. Most important, however, is the kids can see it while they are on school holiday," said visitor Memet. Many Indonesians use only one name The Titan Arum also has the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world, reaching nearly 3 metres tall. The tallest bloom in cultivation was recorded last year at the Wilhelma botanical and zoological garden in Stuttgart, Germany, reaching a height of 91 metres (9 feet 6 inches).

ITN Source | July 15, 2006

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