- It’s great that the botanists are excited, but this whole thing seems pretty revolting to us.
Halloween isn’t exactly a holiday that makes you think of flowers. But if it did, you could imagine that the flowers smell like corpses.
In that sense, the blooming of Leiden University’s corpse flower is very Halloween-appropriate. It smells exactly like a mound of rotting flesh, but that’s not all.
It also looks like an enormous penis.
The plant in question is Amorphophallus decus-silvae, also known as the penis plant. It’s sometimes also called the corpse flower, although that name is more common with the related Amorphophallus titanium species.
This phallic, borderline-necromantic bloom is a rare occasion to boot. It was only the third time ever that this kind of plant has flowered in Europe.
The last time a similar plant flowered at Leiden University was 24 years ago in 1997. Perhaps the flower is aware of the season and decided to bless the university with a Halloween-y corpse stench.
The Funk of 40,000 Years
According to Leiden University, caretakers at its botanical garden noticed that the six-year old plant was about to bloom in mid-September. The reason for that was the ungodly stench that was suddenly wafting through the greenhouse.
You see, the plant uses the same strategy as most other flowers — it emits an aroma that attracts pollinating insects. But while most flowers attract bees or beetles with sweet scents, the Amorphohallus takes a more hardcore approach.
This plant prefers to use flies for pollination. And if there’s anything flies love, it’s recently deceased, decomposing flesh.
And so, in the first, female part of its flowering cycle, the plant starts stinking to high heaven with the rancid aroma of a billion corpses. Or, as the university puts it, it “emits a penetrating smell of rotting flesh.”
“Flies and other pollinators love this smell and arrive en masse. Then it’s time for the male phase,” the university explained.
In the male phase, the corpse flower starts spewing out pollen, which covers the flies that are now swarming around it. Then, the flies fly off, and with any luck will head over to another blooming Amorphophallus.
However, Leiden University doesn’t have another Amorphophallus decus-silvae. To save the rare plant’s precious pollen, botanical researchers captured the flies and harvested their payload.
All in all, the flowering phase lasts only two days. It’s short-lived, wonderful, and disgusting miracle of nature.
Giant Female Penis
Alright, so the stink explains the name “corpse flower.” But why is called a “penis plant” as well? Hopefully not because of the smell?
Luckily, the stench has nothing to do with it. It’s all about the shape.
Paradoxically, in the female phase of the flowering process, the Amorphophallus grows a spadix. That’s a reproductive part of an inflorescence — for example, the cattail of the common cattail is a spadix.
In the Amorphophallus’ case, though, the spadix resembles a human penis. Kind of, if you squint and dim the lights.
And this female plant penis is big. The Amorphophallus at Leiden University grew a spandex that at its most engorged was more than six feet tall.
Another clue to the plant’s penile nature is right there in its name. Translated from ancient Greek to English, Amorphophallus means “misshapen penis.”
So it’s an enormous, twisted caricature of a human penis that smells like literal death. That’s so hot.
Tender Loving Care
What makes this whole occasion so rare is that the Amorphophallus is a very reluctant bloomer. In the wild, it flowers only once every 6-10 years.
It’s even more difficult to get the plant to flower in a greenhouse, since it’s extremely picky about its environment. According to Leiden University, the surrounding temperature has to be very hot and humid for the plant to get in the mood.
Luckily for Leiden, their volunteer Rudmer Postma, who takes care of the plant, had the right touch. With diligent, professional care, he was able to make this momentous occasion happen.
Thank everything good in this world that it only lasts for two days, though. Imagine having a giant penis stinking up your workplace for two months.