Corpse Flower Blossoms at Binghamton University

Do you remember the part in the 1993 'Dennis the Menace' movie where Mr. Wilson has a prized flower that he's been grooming for like 40 years, and just as he and his friends gather around to watch it bloom, Dennis does something crazy and makes them miss the monumental moment? That's a corpse flower!

The movie is a bit on the dramatic side, but it is true that the corpse flower does only bloom a few times in its entire life span and since it's estimated that there are only about 100 of these plants in the entire world, seeing one bloom in person is very rare.

The corpse plant is native to western Sumatra, Indonesia and the one at Binghamton University is the real deal- it's not a hybrid. The plant was donated to Binghamton University by Werner Stiegler III, an alumni who obtained the plant from Bali, Indonesia.

The reason the corpse flower (real name Amorphophallus titanum) smells so bad is because it needs to attract insects. Because the corpse plant is so huge, it can take a year or even more for it to store enough energy to bloom and it needs to attract as many insect as possible to ensure pollination. The stinky smell attracts insects looking for a place to lay their eggs. By crawling all over the plant, the insects play a very important role in pollination.

While I didn't get the chance to see the corpse flower in full bloom, I did get to see it begin to bloom late last night and it was amazing! Only a few people were able to see the full bloom because the plant didn't completely open until 1:30am this morning.

If you're interested in learning more about botany and ecology, the 12,500 square foot E.W. Heier Teaching Greenhouse at Binghamton University is open to the public from 8:30am to 4pm Monday through Friday, all year long. Admission is free, but you'll want to call 607-777-2502 ahead of time just to be on the safe side.