High summer arrives with a vengeance as a massive, smelly flower could be the biggest yet at Eden

August 1, 2008

A giant specimen of the world's biggest, smelliest flower is about to burst into bloom at the Eden Project in Cornwall - just in time to cause a huge stink in the summer holidays.

The extremely rare Titan arum, known as the corpse flower due to its revolting smell, is now installed in a pot in the sultry depths of the Malaysia area in Eden's Rainforest Biome - the biggest greenhouse in the world.

Astonishingly, this is the fourth time skilled horticulturist Tim Grigg of the Eden Green Team has nurtured a  titan to flower.  He believes this could be the biggest one yet as the tuber - the plant’s underground storage organ - weighs 61 kilograms, almost twice as heavy as any of the previous specimens to flower at Eden.

Tim said:  "It looks like being a real whopper.  It will be exciting to see how it develops over the next week or so and how big the flower is when it opens.  We have never had one blossom in the height of summer before.  We will need to warn people about the pong.  It is quite revolting but fortunately you only smell it when you are in close proximity of the open flower."

The plant - real name Amorphophallus titanum - hails from Sumatra.  Tim Grigg has been growing titans at Eden's Watering Lane nursery for seven years from a batch of seeds donated by Bonn Botanical Garden in Germany.

The third came to flower in November last year and later, for the first time at Eden, produced a cluster of red berries containing the seed.  Tim gathered around 650 seeds and sent half of them to botanical gardens around the UK as a gift from Eden.  He has also raised seedlings and sent some seeds back to Bonn.

Although it is a distant relative of the ‘lords and ladies’, a British lily, the Titan is unique in the plant world.  It is a true giant capable of growing to a size of 3m (9ft 10ins).

The plant is distinguished by its yellowy, fleshy spike known as a spadix. This is wrapped in a single cream leaf which, when opened, reveals a rich crimson inside.

When the plant is ready to attract pollinators, the spike heats up and gives off the smell which disgusts humans but is very attractive to insects. It then develops the fruit which attracts birds.

For those who want to follow the Titan’s spectacular flowering, it will be available via a webcam on Eden’s website at www.edenproject.com.