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Amorphophallus titanum, the titan arum, is a flowering plant in the family Araceae.

It has a large unbranched inflorescence, a tall single leaf branched like a tree, and a heavy tuber which enables the plant to produce the inflorescence. A. titanum is endemic to rainforests on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Its flower blooms infrequently and only for a short period, and gives off a powerful scent of rotting flesh which attracts pollinators. As a consequence, it is characterized as a carrion flower, earning it the names corpse flower or corpse plant. Amorphophallus titanum was first brought to flower in cultivation at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 1889. Since then it has flowered at many botanic gardens but remains difficult for amateurs to cultivate. Flowerings can attract crowds of thousands of visitors, and in the 21st century also thousands of viewers on live streaming.

Amorphophallus titanum derives its name from Ancient Greek (ἄμορφος amorphos, "without form, misshapen" + φαλλός phallos, "phallus", and Τιτάν Titan, "titan, giant"). The name "titan arum" is said to have been coined during the filming of David Attenborough's 1995 The Private Life of Plants, as the generic name Amorphophallus was considered to be "too rude" for television audiences.

A single leaf, the size and shape of a small tree, grows from the seed. After a period of about a year, the old leaf dies, and a new one grows in its place from the tuber.

After some years, when the tuber is sufficiently large, the plant develops an inflorescence instead of a leaf. The inflorescence consists of a tall fragrant spadix of flowers wrapped by a spathe, shaped like an upside-down bell, resembling a petal. The upper ring bears between 450 and 5,000 small cream-coloured male flowers; the lower ring consists of the pink carpels of female flowers.

Amorphophallus titanum was first scientifically described in 1878 by the Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari. Beccari discovered the plant on 6 August 1878 in the rainforest in the hills above Priaman, Western Sumatra, and brought a dried inflorescence, tubers, and seeds back to Europe. Beccari initially named the species Conophallus titanum in 1878, in a letter that was published anonymously on his behalf under the title "Il Conophallus titanum—Beccari". In 1879, Giovanni Arcangeli published a full description of the species and moved it into the genus Amorphophallus.

Amorphophallus titanum first flowered in cultivation at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, in 1889, grown from the single seedling that Kew received from Beccari. These flowerings can attract crowds of thousands of visitors, and in the 21st century also thousands on Internet live streaming, and inspired the designation of the titan arum as the official flower of the Bronx in 1939 (replaced in 2000 by the day lily). In the Botanical Garden, Bonn, the titan arum has been cultivated since 1932. The number of cultivated plants has increased because the cultivation requirements for garden specimens are known in detail, and it has become common in the 21st century for five or more flowerings to occur in gardens around the world in a single year. The largest tuber so far recorded was grown at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 2010; it weighed 153.9 kg (339 lb) after seven years' growth from an initial tuber the size of an orange. In cultivation, Amorphophallus titanum generally requires five to ten years of vegetative growth before blooming for the first time. Some plants may not bloom again for another seven to ten years, while others may bloom every two or three years. At the Botanical Garden, Bonn, under optimal cultivation conditions, the plants flowered every other year. Anomalous flowerings have been documented, including consecutive blooms within a year, and a tuber simultaneously sending up both a leaf (or two) and an inflorescence.

Quick Facts

• Amorphophallus titanum was first brought to flower in cultivation at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 1889.
• It has a large unbranched inflorescence, a tall single leaf branched like a tree, and a heavy tuber which enables the plant to produce the inflorescence.
• Amorphophallus titanum first flowered in cultivation at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, in 1889, grown from the single seedling that Kew received from Beccari.
• A. titanum is endemic to rainforests on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
• As a consequence, it is characterized as a carrion flower, earning it the names corpse flower or corpse plant.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Amorphophallus titanum". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.