Rare corpse flower bloom in San Francisco brings out enthusiasts of the fetid flora
Botanical enthusiasts were in for a notoriously stinky experience at the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on Thursday.
One of the conservatory's aptly-named corpse flowers - the massive bloom which smells like rotting meat - began its unusual blooming process Thursday. Lovingly dubbed Scarlet, the conservatory's specimen only blooms once every three to five years, and for just two days.
After-hours tickets from 5 to 10 p.m. were made available for the popular event to give people an extra chance to glimpse and sniff the endangered flower, which smells most potently the first night it emerges. Native to the steep hillsides of tropical rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia, the corpse flower is the largest unbranched inflorescence - many tiny flowers acting as one - in the plant kingdom. It's brief blooms can grow up to 10 feet tall.
The overpowering scent of the corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum) is meant to trick carrion beetles and flies to visit and pollinate the flowers. These decomposition-attracted insects lay eggs on decaying animals so their larvae can have a feast when they hatch, and the corpse flower's stench is the perfect imitation.
The corpse flower also raises its temperature on that first, most foul-smelling evening of the bloom, to further disperse the odor.
Fewer than 1,000 corpse flowers remain in their native environment due to habitat loss largely caused by the expansion of oil palm plantations. Palm oil is used in a plethora of products, like candy bars, shampoos, cookies, and cosmetic products.
The conservatory explains on its website that anyone concerned about the future survival of corpse flowers can pressure manufacturers to use sustainably produced palm oil and conserve critical forest areas.
Over the course of Scarlet's last blooming event, over 7,200 visitors poured into the the conservatory over the weekend, and over 62,000 viewers enjoyed it streamed live on YouTube.