Four titan arum ‘corpse flowers’ to bloom in a week at Cairns Botanic Gardens

Four rare titan arums, also known as corpse flowers due to their strong odour, have bloomed within days of each other at the Cairns Botanic Gardens in Far North Queensland, attracting thousands of visitors.

‘Bin juice’ with a hint of ‘rotting fish’

More than 2,000 people have visited the attraction since the first plant fully flowered on Monday, with descriptions of the scent ranging from “a bit rubbishy” to “like rotting tropical fruit.”

Curator Charles Clarke said a garden survey narrowed the description down to “bin juice, dead animals such as wallaby and rat, with a slight background flavour of rotting fish.”

Cairns resident Terina Sylvester, who has attended several previous flowerings, described the smell as “a bit like dog poo.” Meeah Webb, 11, from Townsville, called it “pretty disgusting.”

Newcastle resident Julie Young visited twice in two days while on holiday, saying, “We’re so grateful that we were here to witness the plant in all its glory.”

Cairns the ‘perfect’ climate

The titan arum is native to West Sumatra in Indonesia, where the species is endangered due to deforestation. The first flowers grown outside its native habitat were cultivated at Kew Gardens in the UK in 1889, and the plants have since become a major drawcard for botanic gardens worldwide.

Dr. Clarke said the species thrives in Cairns’ tropical climate, regularly producing large inflorescences. “If we couldn’t flower these things in Cairns … [there would] be something wrong with us because our climate is just about perfect for them,” he said. “We just plant them and watch them go.”

Cairns Botanic Gardens has 15 titan arums in its collection, with two flowering this week and two more poised to open in the coming days. Dr. Clarke expects this round of flowering to conclude by the end of the week, adding that another bloom could open in the next day or two, though they are unpredictable.

The plants produce a large burgundy flowering structure, known as an inflorescence, which can exceed 3 metres in height and contain clusters of small flowers. The inflorescence appears only once every few years for about 24 hours, emitting a scent likened to rotting flesh to attract pollinators.