[imagesource: Omroep West]
People the world over have become fascinated by a rare and stinky “penis plant” that has just bloomed.
Besides the attention-grabbing nickname, it is also notable that this two-metre “penis plant” has bloomed at a botanical garden in the Netherlands for the first time in nearly 25 years.
(This is the third time that the species has flowered in Europe since 1997.)
The phallic flower, scientific name Amorphophallus decus-silvae, flowered in the tropical greenhouses of the Leiden Hortus Botanicus around October 22, and people have been flocking to take a look:
This six-year-old penis plant has been cultivated with the utmost TLC by garden volunteer Rudmer Postma, reported CNN:
Garden personnel first noticed the flower bud in mid-September, and in just over a month, the bud has become about half a metre (over 3 feet) tall, with the narrow stem reaching up to 2 metres (over 6 feet) high.
“Few botanical gardens have Amorphophallus decus-silvae in their collection, making the flowering of the plant particularly rare,” the release noted.
Apparently, “amorphophallus” is translated to “shapeless penis” in English, not that we need much imagination to see how this applies:
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The plant is native to the Indonesian island of Java and is incredibly difficult to bloom.
But when it does, it really blooms, and the smell comes just as strong and heavy:
Native to tropical rainforest-rich Indonesia, the penis plant requires a very warm and humid growing environment and is therefore difficult to grow in Europe.
But its terrible, pungent odor — akin to rotting flesh — helps gardeners predict when the plant will flower, which according to the release, happens in two stages: the female bloom phase and the male bloom phase.
Garden volunteer and yoga teacher Roos Kocken posted a TikTok video saying that it only really stunk in the afternoon:
@plantwithroosCheck out this Amorphophallus decus-silvae in bloom for the first time in 24 years, and the 3r time EVER in Europe. It’s a very special, smelly day😅♬ original sound – Plant with Roos
The reason for the elusive penis plant bloom has to do with how long it takes to store enough strength to do so, according to Susan Pell, the deputy executive director of the US Botanical Garden:
Amorphophallus plants’ blooms emerge from their underground structures called corms, which are like the underground part of tree trunks, she explained.
“That bloom is just using up all of the energy that’s been stored in that corm. And so in order to bloom again, that corm has to produce a series of leaves over … somewhere between probably three and 10 or 12 years in order to get enough energy built back up in the corm to support a bloom, which really occupies that corm for more than a year,” Pell added.
The plant is closely related to the amorphophallus titanium, which is commonly known as the “corpse flower” due to its similarly stinky odour.
Another picture before you go:
Alright, have a good day now.
[source:cnn]
