Titan arum

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Titan arum
Amorphophallus titanum (corpse flower) - 2.jpg
In bloom at New York Botanical Garden
June 27, 2018
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Genus: Amorphophallus
Species:
A. titanum
Binomial name
Amorphophallus titanum
(Becc.) Becc. ex Arcang
Synonyms
  • Amorphophallus selebicusNakai
  • Conophallus titanumBecc.

The titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) 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.

Contents

Because its flower blooms infrequently and only for a short period, it gives off a powerful scent of rotting flesh to attract pollinators. As a consequence, it is characterized as a carrion flower, earning it the names corpse flower or corpse plant.

The titan arum was first brought to flower in cultivation at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 1889. Since then it has flowered at many botanic gardens. It remains difficult for amateurs to cultivate, but one flowered at a high school in California in 2011. Flowerings can attract crowds of thousands of visitors, and in the 21st century also thousands on Internet live streaming.

Etymology

A. titanum derives its name from Ancient Greek (ἄμορφοςamorphos, "without form, misshapen" + φαλλόςphallos, "phallus", and Τιτάν Titan , "titan, giant"). [2] The common name corpse flower is translated from the Indonesian name bunga bangkai with the same meaning. [3]

Life-cycle

Titan arum life-cycle Titan Arum life-cycle.svg
Titan arum life-cycle

Leaf

A single leaf, the size and shape of a small tree, grows from the seed. The leaf grows on a patterned green and white petiole or stalk that branches into three sections at the top, each containing many leaflets. The leaf can reach up to 4.7 m (15 ft) tall. [4] The trunklike petiole bearing the leaf can be "as thick as a person's thigh". [5] Food in the form of sugars from the leaf accumulate (as starch) in an underground tuber or corm. After a period of about a year, the old leaf dies, and a new one grows in its place from the tuber. [5]

Tuber

When a leaf dies, the tuber becomes dormant for about four months. Then the plant produces another leaf, and repeats the cycle of supplying food to the tuber. This may continue for up to around seven years. [4] [6] The tuber is the largest of any known flowering plant; [7] it may weigh more than 90 kg (200 lb). [5] [6]

Inflorescence

After some years, when the tuber is sufficiently large, the titan arum develops an inflorescence instead of a leaf. This can take ten years from seed; subsequent flowerings can be more frequent, typically at intervals of three to seven years. [4] The inflorescence can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in height. [8] [9] The inflorescence of an arum consists of a tall fragrant spadix of flowers wrapped by a spathe, shaped like an upside-down bell, resembling a petal. The spathe is deep green with cream-coloured specks on the outside, and dark burgundy red or maroon on the inside. Its sides are ribbed, creating a frilled edge. [10] [4] Near the bottom of the spadix, hidden from view inside the sheath of the spathe, the spadix bears two rings of small flowers. The upper ring bears between 450 and 5,000 small cream-coloured male flowers; [10] [4] the lower ring consists of the pink carpels of female flowers. [10] Shortly before flowering, the two leaflike bracts at the base of the spathe dry up and die. [4] The female flowers open before the male flowers to prevent self-pollination. [11] The flowers last for 24 to 36 hours. [4]

Pollination by carrion insects

As the spathe gradually opens, the spadix heats up to 37 °C (99 °F), and rhythmically releases a powerful odor to attract carrion insects which feed on or lay their eggs in rotting meat. [9] The potency of the odor gradually increases from late evening until the middle of the night, when carrion beetles and flesh flies are active as pollinators, then tapers off towards morning. [4] Analyses of chemicals released by the spadix show the stench includes dimethyl trisulfide (like limburger cheese), dimethyl disulfide (garlic), trimethylamine (rotting fish), isovaleric acid (sweaty socks), benzyl alcohol (sweet floral scent), phenol (like Chloraseptic), and indole (like feces). [12] [13] The odor is detectable up to a half mile (0.8 km) away. [14] The inflorescence's deep red color and texture contribute to the illusion that the spathe is a piece of meat. During bloom, the tip of the spadix is roughly human body temperature, which helps the perfume volatilize. The heated spadix creates a micro-convection in the cool ambient air, enhancing the transport of the scent. The heat helps to convince carrion-feeding insects that a dead body is present, attracting them to the inflorescence. [9]

Fruits and seeds

The carpels of pollinated female flowers ripen into fruits. The spathe and the upper part of the spadix wither away, leaving a short spike bearing a column of bright red fruits. These attract rhinoceros hornbills which eat the fruits and disperse the seeds around the rainforest. The spike dies back after around nine months, and the tuber becomes dormant for about a year. It can then produce a new leaf and restart the cycle. [4]

Taxonomy and distribution

Amorphophallus titanum was first scientifically described in 1878 by the Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari. [15] 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. The first leaf specimen was collected at Air Mancur, to the west of Padang Panjang. [16]

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". [17] [18] In 1879, Giovanni Arcangeli published a full description of the species and moved it into the genus Amorphophallus . [19] [18] Plants in the genus all have a single locule inside the ovary, and are found across tropical Africa, India, Southeast Asia, Japan, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. [20]

The species is endemic to western Sumatra, [8] where it grows in openings in rainforests on limestone hills. [21]

Cultivation

The titan arum first flowered in cultivation at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, in 1889, [22] grown from the single seedling that Kew received from Beccari. [4] The first documented flowerings in the United States were at the New York Botanical Garden in 1937 and 1939. [23] These flowerings can attract crowds of thousands of visitors, and in the 21st century also thousands on Internet live streaming, [24] and inspired the designation of the titan arum as the official flower of the Bronx in 1939 (replaced in 2000 by the day lily). [25] In the Botanical Gardens of Bonn, the titan arum has been cultivated since 1932. [26] 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. [27] Challenging cultivation constraints mean that the plant is rarely cultivated by amateur gardeners, but in 2011, Roseville High School in California became the first school in the world to bring a titan arum to bloom. [28]

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. [29] The tallest documented inflorescence was at Meise Botanic Garden; on 13 August 2024 it reached 3.225 metres (10.58 ft) in height. [30]

In cultivation, the titan arum generally requires five to ten years of vegetative growth before blooming for the first time. After a plant's initial blooming, there can be considerable variation in its blooming frequency. The cultivation conditions are known in detail. [27] Some plants may not bloom again for another seven to ten years, while others may bloom every two or three years. At the botanical gardens in Bonn, under optimal cultivation conditions, the plants flowered every other year. [8] [26] A plant has flowered every second year (2012 to 2022) in the Copenhagen Botanical Garden. [31] Anomalous flowerings have been documented, including consecutive blooms within a year, [32] and a tuber simultaneously sending up both a leaf (or two) and an inflorescence. [33] Triplet inflorescences have been recorded from Bonn, Germany (from a 117 kg (258 lb) tuber), [9] [34] and at the Chicago Botanic Garden in May 2020. [35] Titan arums have bloomed at three of Indonesia's botanical gardens: Bogor, [36] Cibodas, [37] and Purwodadi. [38]

Self-pollination was once considered impossible but, in 1992, botanists in Bonn successfully hand-pollinated their plant with its own pollen, using ground-up male flowers, resulting in fruiting and hundreds of seeds from which numerous seedlings were produced and distributed. [8] [26] [27] A titan arum at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota produced viable seed through self-pollination in 2011. [39]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Araceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe. Also known as the arum family, members are often colloquially known as aroids. This family of 114 genera and about 3,750 known species is most diverse in the New World tropics, although also distributed in the Old World tropics and northern temperate regions.

<i>Amorphophallus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Amorphophallus is a large genus of some 200 tropical and subtropical tuberous herbaceous plants from the Arum family (Araceae), native to Asia, Africa, Australia and various oceanic islands. A few species are edible as "famine foods" after careful preparation to remove irritating chemicals. The genus includes the Titan arum of Indonesia, which has the largest inflorescence of any plant in the genus, and is also known as the 'corpse flower' for the pungent odour it produces during its flowering period, which can take up to seven years of growth before it occurs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spadix (botany)</span> Type of inflorescence

In botany, a spadix is a type of inflorescence having small flowers borne on a fleshy stem. Spadices are typical of the family Araceae, the arums or aroids. The spadix is typically surrounded by a leaf-like curved bract known as a spathe. For example, the "flower" of the well known Anthurium spp. is a typical spadix with a large colorful spathe.

<i>Philodendron</i> Genus of flowering plants

Philodendron is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. As of June 2013, the Plants of the World Online accepted 621 species; other sources accept different numbers. Regardless of number of species, the genus is the second-largest member of the family Araceae, after genus Anthurium. Taxonomically, the genus Philodendron is still poorly known, with many undescribed species. Many are grown as ornamental and indoor plants. The name derives from the Greek words philo- 'love, affection' and dendron 'tree'. The generic name, Philodendron, is often used as the English name.

<i>Arum maculatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Arum maculatum, commonly known as cuckoopint, jack-in-the-pulpit and other names, is a woodland flowering plant species in the family Araceae. It is native across most of Europe, as well as Eastern Turkey and the Caucasus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoophily</span> Pollination by animals

Zoophily, or zoogamy, is a form of pollination whereby pollen is transferred by animals, usually by invertebrates but in some cases vertebrates, particularly birds and bats, but also by other animals. Zoophilous species frequently have evolved mechanisms to make themselves more appealing to the particular type of pollinator, e.g. brightly colored or scented flowers, nectar, and appealing shapes and patterns. These plant-animal relationships are often mutually beneficial because of the food source provided in exchange for pollination.

<i>Arisaema triphyllum</i> Species of flowering plant

Arisaema triphyllum, the Jack-in-the-pulpit, is a species of flowering plant in the arum family Araceae. It is a member of the Arisaema triphyllum complex, a group of four or five closely related taxa in eastern North America. The specific name triphyllum means "three-leaved", a characteristic feature of the species, which is also referred to as Indian turnip, bog onion, and brown dragon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrion flower</span> Flowers that smell like rotting flesh

Carrion flowers, also known as corpse flowers or stinking flowers, are mimetic flowers that emit an odor that smells like rotting flesh. Apart from the scent, carrion flowers often display additional characteristics that contribute to the mimesis of a decaying corpse. These include their specific coloration, the presence of setae, and orifice-like flower architecture. Carrion flowers attract mostly scavenging flies and beetles as pollinators. Some species may trap the insects temporarily to ensure the gathering and transfer of pollen.

<i>Arum</i> Genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae

Arum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to Europe, northern Africa, and western and central Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region. Frequently called arum lilies, they are not closely related to the true lilies Lilium. Plants in the closely related genus Zantedeschia are also called 'arum lilies'.

<i>Corypha umbraculifera</i> Species of palm

Corypha umbraculifera, the talipot palm, is a species of palm native to eastern and southern India and Sri Lanka. It is also grown in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Mauritius and the Andaman Islands. It is one of the five accepted species in the genus Corypha. It is a flowering plant with the largest inflorescence in the world. It lives up to 60 years before bearing flowers and fruits. It dies shortly after.

<i>Amorphophallus paeoniifolius</i> Staple root food in southeast Asia

Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, the elephant foot yam or whitespot giant arum, is a tropical plant native to Island Southeast Asia. It is cultivated for its edible tubers in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Madagascar, New Guinea, and the Pacific islands. Because of its production potential and popularity as a vegetable in various cuisines, it can be raised as a cash crop.

<i>Peltandra virginica</i> Species of aquatic plant

Peltandra virginica is a plant of the arum family known as green arrow arum and tuckahoe. It is widely distributed in wetlands in the eastern United States, as well as in Quebec, Ontario, and Cuba. It is common in central Florida including the Everglades and along the Gulf Coast. Its rhizomes are tolerant to low oxygen levels found in wetland soils. It can be found elsewhere in North America as an introduced species and often an invasive plant.

<i>Alocasia cucullata</i> Species of flowering plant

Alocasia cucullata is a species of flowering plant in the arum family known by the common names Chinese taro, Chinese ape, Buddha's hand, and hooded dwarf elephant ear. It is kept as an ornamental plant.

<i>Zantedeschia albomaculata</i> Species of flowering plant

Zantedeschia albomaculata, commonly called the spotted calla lily or the white spotted arum, is a species of flowering plant in the arum family, Araceae. Its leaves are somewhat smaller, thinner and slightly more pointed than the larger Zantedeschia aethiopica—also commonly called the "calla lily"—and display attractive white speckling on their faces. The plant spreads laterally underground by way of a rhizome or tuber, with nodes that sprout and send-up new shoots. Its inflorescence is typical of the Araceae family, featuring a white, funnel-shaped spathe with a yellowish spadix in the center.

<i>Arum cylindraceum</i> Species of plant

Arum cylindraceum is a woodland plant species of the family Araceae. It is found in most of Europe except the UK, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic States and Scandinavia, and in Turkey. It is also missing in northwestern France and southern Italy.

<i>Arum orientale</i> Species of plant

Arum orientale is a woodland plant species of the family Araceae. It is found in southeastern Europe as far west as Vienna and in Turkey. Its primary range is Romania, Bulgaria, and southern Ukraine.

<i>Amorphophallus gigas</i> Species of plant

Amorphophallus gigas is a plant in the Arum, or Calla Lily, Family, (Araceae) native to Sumatra. It is also known as Amorphophallus brooksii. It resembles its near relative Amorphophallus titanum in having a very large spadix surrounded by a very large spathe. In both species the inflorescence can be up to 11 ft 4 in in height, has the smell of rotting flesh, and is fly pollinated. According to Bown, the record specimen was 4.36 meters in height, of which 1.5 meters was the spadix. The tuber, a corm, is second in size only to A. titanum at up to 70 kilograms in weight.

<i>Dracontium gigas</i> Species of flowering plant

Dracontium gigas is an herbaceous rainforest plant of the calla family (Araceae), native to Central America. It resembles the Old World species Amorphophallus titanum but has a spadix that is shorter than the spathe, with a somewhat smaller inflorescence up to 34 in (86 cm) in height. The leaf is up to 11.5 ft (3.5 m) high by up to 8 ft (2.4 m) wide. The petiole of A. titanum can be 12 or more inches thick, but that of D. gigas is only 2 to 3 inches in thickness.

References

  1. ↑ Yuzammi.; Hadiah, J.T. (2018). "Amorphophallus titanum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T118042834A118043213. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T118042834A118043213.en . Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  2. ↑ ἄμορφος, φαλλός, Τιτάν . Liddell, Henry George ; Scott, Robert ; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
  3. ↑ "About that name: behind Alice the Amorphophallus". Chicago Botanic Garden. 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Titan Arum—FAQ". Chicago Botanic Garden. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  5. 1 2 3 Fayyaz, Mo (1 January 2009). "Amorphophallus titanum (Becc.) Becc. ex Arcang". University of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Titan Arum in the Botanical Gardens Bonn". Archived from the original on 2021-10-05.
  7. ↑ Grigg, Tim (1 June 2011). "The biggest flower in the world set to bloom in the Eden Project's rainforest". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 28 January 2025. Tim Grigg at the Eden Project nursery has become highly skilled at cultivating them - this is his fifth one to come into flower.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Barthlott, W. & W. Lobin (Eds.) (1998): Amorphophallus titanum. – A Monograph, 226 pp, F. Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart (= Trop. subtrop. Pflanzenwelt Vol, 99, Acad. Science. Mainz). Download: (19,2 MB)
  9. 1 2 3 4 Barthlott, W., Szarzynski, J., Vlek, P., Lobin, W., & N. Korotkova (2009): A torch in the rainforest: thermogenesis of the Titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum). Plant Biol. 11 (4): 499–505 doi : 10.1111/j.1438-8677.2008.00147.x
  10. 1 2 3 "Amorphophallus titanum (Becc.) Becc.: General Information: Descriptions: According to Kew Species Profiles" . Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  11. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions About the Titan Arum or Corpse Plant". Harvard University Arboretum. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
  12. ↑ American Chemical Society. The Chemistry of the Corpse Flower's Stench 2013
  13. ↑ Cornell University. What made 'Wee Stinky' stink. 2012. Retrieved 2013-08-11
  14. ↑ Glenday, Craig, ed. (2019). Guinness World Records. London: The Jim Pattison Group. p. 31.
  15. ↑ "Titan arum FAQ". Chicago Botanic Garden. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  16. ↑ Beccari, Nello (1930). "Odoardo Beccari in Sumatra e la scoperta dell' " Amorphophallus Titanum" (Frammenti di diario inediti, trascritti ed ordinati)" [Odoardo Beccari in Sumatra and the discovery of Amorphophallus titanum]. Bollettino della Società Geografica Italiana (in Italian): 569–595.
  17. ↑ Anonymous, on behalf of Odoardo Beccari (1878). "Il Conophallus titanum—Beccari". The Gardeners' Chronicle (10): 788, with figure on p. 781.
  18. 1 2 Giordano, Cristiana; Nardi, Enio; Mosti, Stefano (2013). "Lectotypification of Conophallus titanum (≡Amorphophallus titanum) (Araceae)". Taxon. 62 (5): 1032–1036. doi: 10.12705/625.9 .
  19. ↑ Arcangeli, Giovanni (1879). "Sull' Amorphophallus Titanum Beccari". Bullettino della Reale Società Toscana d'Orticultura (in Italian) (4): 46–51.
  20. ↑ "Amorphophallus Blume ex Decne". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  21. ↑ University of Connecticut (14 Feb 2011). "Amorphophallus titanum". Archived from the original on 2012-05-02. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  22. ↑ "Amorphophallus titanum Titan arum". Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  23. ↑ "Another Krubi from Sumatra Blooms at the Garden". Journal of the New York Botanical Garden . 40 (476): 179–181. August 1939 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  24. ↑ Wong, Tessa; Butler, Gavin (23 January 2025). "Stinky bloom of 'corpse flower' enthrals thousands". BBC News . Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  25. ↑ "Bronx to Shed a Symbol With an Odor of Decay". The New York Times . 2000-04-22. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  26. 1 2 3 "Titanenwurz" [Titan Arum] (in German). Botanische Gärten der Universität Bonn. Archived from the original on 2011-02-03. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  27. 1 2 3 Lobin, W., Neumann, M., Radscheit, M. & W. Barthlott (2007): The cultivation of Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum) – A flagship species for Botanic Gardens, Sibbaldia 5: 69-86
  28. ↑ Gilford Steamer (newspaper) July 1, 2010 pp. A1 & A9
  29. ↑ McDonald, Charlotte. "Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh – The story of our corm". www.rbge.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2017-07-19. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  30. ↑ Walschaers, Evi (2024-08-13). "Plantentuin van Meise heeft de grootste "penisbloem" ooit: deurwaarder meet aronskelk van 3,22 meter (10.5 feet)". VRT. Meise, Belgium. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  31. ↑ Eastern Illinois University's Three Titan Arum Blooms 2012 Retrieved 2013-08-11
  32. ↑ 'Big Bucky' 5/2009 and 6/2009, University of Wisconsin–Madison
  33. ↑ 'Big Bucky' 5/2012 and 'Little Stinker' 9/2009, University of Wisconsin–Madison
  34. ↑ University of Bonn Botanic Garden, Bonn Three blooms from one corm Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2013-08-11
  35. ↑ "The Velvet Queen | Chicago Botanic Garden".
  36. ↑ "Di Kebun Raya Bogor, Amorphophallus titanum mekar sempurna". 4 January 2020.
  37. ↑ "Mekarnya 'Amorphophallus titanum', Merayakan 172 Tahun Kebun Raya Cibodas - Semua Halaman - National Geographic".
  38. ↑ "Momen langka, Bunga Bangkai mekar pertama kali di Kebun Raya Purwodadi". 14 October 2024.
  39. ↑ Gustavus Adolphus College Self-pollination 2011. Retrieved 2013-08-11

Bibliography

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