Australia Fans celebrate "Putricia": Rare stinky flower blooms in Sydney
For days, plant fans in Sydney had been following the development of the titanium root "Putricia" on livestream - now they can experience its bestial stench in person.
24.01.2025, 06:00
SDA
The famous flower has opened its huge inflorescence in the Botanic Gardens and has already attracted 20,000 onlookers since Thursday, as reported by ABC. In the morning, the park's website stated that the waiting time was at least 90 minutes.
Interested parties know: Time is of the essence. Because the impressive spectacle generally doesn't last long. In Sydney, the park operators expected the flowers to bloom for around 24 hours, which is why the special greenhouse with the "corpse flower" was to remain open until late on Friday. It will be years before "Putricia" blooms again.
Largest flower in the world - but with a carrion smell
"Putricia The Corpse Flower" was simply written on a sign above the entrance. Inside, small clouds of mist kept rising, imitating the humidity of the rainforest. This is where the titanium root is actually native - on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
This sensational plant produces the largest flower in the entire plant kingdom. In some cases, it can grow more than three meters high. The huge bulb weighs over 100 kilos. When it opens, the plant develops a rather disgusting carrion smell to attract insects. The stench has been compared to rotting fish, decaying flesh and sweaty sports socks.
Shape reminiscent of a penis
The 9News channel quoted Paul Nicholson, an employee of the botanical garden, as saying: "Take wet socks from your youth and put them in a blender with some cat food you've left out in the sun. Then add some vomit from the day before, mix everything and take the lid off." This is roughly what the plant smells like, but it is also beautiful.
The name "putricia" is no coincidence: the English word "putrid" means something like "foul" or "disgusting". But the arum plant is notorious not only for its enormous size and foul smell, but also for its phallic shape: The Latin name "Amorphophallus titanum" translates roughly as "misshapen giant penis".
