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Crowds flock to smell stinky bloom

Corpse flower spreads its rare reek over California garden

ENCINITAS, Calif., July 17 —  Visitors say it smells like rotten crabs, eggs left in the sun or road kill. To greenhouse owners, it’s the sweet smell of success. The world’s biggest and stinkiest flower is in full, er, bloom in Southern California — something that’s happened only about 15 times in the United States. 

THE 4½-FOOT-TALL amorphophallus titanum, or titan arum, considered by some the plant kingdom’s greatest superstar, is drawing crowds to Quail Botanical Gardens curious to smell the odor that gives the plant its unappetizing nickname — the corpse flower.

“Eeeeeewwwwwwwwwww,” squealed 9-year-old Todd Fritz, who dropped to his knees Monday and writhed on the ground in mock agony when he caught a whiff. “It’s the worst thing I’ve ever smelled.”

Dennis Gulyas, a self-described admirer of bizarre things, said the odor reminded him of an unventilated high school gym locker. Ken and Ruth Mitzner brought along a pair of respirators, just in case.
       
RARELY BLOOMS IN CULTIVATION

Native to Indonesia, the titan arum blooms only a few times in its 40-year life span and rarely blooms in cultivation. For eight hours, it emits a nauseating odor to attract pollinating, carrion-eating beetles.

The plant has been seen in bloom only about 15 times since its first U.S. display in New York in 1937. About 63,000 people flocked to Huntington Library in San Marino when a titan bloomed in 1999, and hundreds went to the arboretum in Fullerton in 2000 to inspect its version.

A great deal remains unknown about the plant because it is difficult to find in the wild, and especially hard to find flowering. No one is sure how rare it is or how long it takes to bloom in the wild.
       
CAN GROW TO 12 FEET

The titan arum starts life as a small tuber then shoots out a single tapered column that grows at the furious rate of up to six inches a day. It can reach heights of up to 12 feet (3.7 meters).

Last month, thousands lined up to see and smell the University of Wisconsin’s corpse flower, and a Web site set up about the flower kept crashing because of heavy traffic.

“This was well worth the wait in line. More thrilling than a ride at an amusement park, where you can wait just as long,” said Anita Evans, who had to wait 45 minutes.