UNC Charlotte is on Bloom Watch for Titan Arum ‘Corpse Flower’
The UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens team is awaiting the bloom of a fast-growing titan arum, often called a corpse flower due the pungent smell it emits during a bloom.
“Cadavera,” was recently named through a contest on social media and is projected by experts to bloom in the next three to 12 days. Once Cadavera blooms, it will stay open for a brief time, approximately 12 to 24 hours.
Amorphophallus titanum’s smell is often compared to rotting meat. The scent attracts pollinators such as beetles and flies to the plant. As Cadavera blooms, it will be at peak-stink for approximately 12 hours, with the smelliest time coming in the evening hours.
Likened to the watchful waiting of childbirth, the bloom is on its own schedule and has been growing steadily at the rate of at least one inch daily. The tropical plant is native to Indonesia and is the largest unbranched inflorescence in the plant kingdom, with the ability to grow up to eight feet or more.
Cadavera is behind a green velvet rope in the Dinosaur Room of the McMillian Greenhouse, which is open to the public and free to visit. Donations are welcomed.
“It’s very exciting and I love it when we have a bloom. We typically have livestream viewing available, and it’s so exciting to know that we will have people watching from all around the world,” said Tammy Blume, greenhouse manager. “They’re keeping an eye on it just like we are and I love that other people are enjoying it.”
The Botanical Gardens will announce extended visiting hours around the day of the bloom in order to allow the maximum number of visitors to see and smell Cadavera. A corpse flower bloom typically attracts thousands of visitors to the greenhouse. A video livestream will also be made available and links will be publicized on social media and UNC Charlotte websites.
Jeff Gillman, Ph.D., director of the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens, explained the importance of keeping the corpse flower in the gardens, despite its lengthy lifecycle and the large amount of space it occupies in the greenhouse. “People love it, and we want everyone to get excited about plants,” said Gillman. “It’s important for botanical gardens to study these plants for conservancy efforts.”
Cadavera is the sibling of “Stinkerbell,” which was the gardens’ last titan bloom in 2023. Now in its leaf phase, Stinkerbell is also available for viewing inside the McMillan Greenhouse.
This is the first bloom for Cadavera, which was pollinated from a seed in 2015 by the Botanical Gardens staff. Cadavera is the offspring of Odie, a previous titan arum in the McMillan Greenhouse, and Morpheous, a corpse flower from the Daniel Stowe Conservancy.
Know before you go:
The McMillian Greenhouse on UNC Charlotte’s campus is located at 9026 Craver Rd., Charlotte NC, 28223. The greenhouse is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the closest visitor parking is in East Deck 1. Explore the interactive UNC Charlotte web map.
