Blooming of second rare ‘corpse flower’ anticipated
“Odie,” the UNC Charlotte Botanical Garden’s other mature Titan Arum, is expected to blossom this month. This will be the second time the 12-year-old specimen will bloom at McMillan Greenhouse; the first time was in 2015.
Already this spring, Odie’s twin “Rotney the Magnifiscent” blossomed for the first time. Thousands of people recently visited campus to catch a whiff of the aroma, described as rotting flesh, thus its nickname “corpse flower.”
Titan Arums are native to the jungles of Sumatra and produce the world’s largest floral structures; they can grow to 10 feet in height. Titans normally open in the evening and the intense odor only lasts for 12 hours. The bloom will stay open (with a much lighter odor) for only one to two days.