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Thousands of US residents queue for hours to see rare corpse flower bloom

From Republika · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • Thousands of visitors queued for hours at The Huntington Library in California to see the rare simultaneous blooming of two Titan Arum plants.
  • The "corpse flower," native to Sumatra, Indonesia, blooms for only 24 to 48 hours, emitting a strong odor to attract pollinators.
  • The event highlights the public's fascination with rare botanical phenomena and the plant's unique life cycle.

A rare botanical spectacle drew immense crowds to The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in California, as two native Sumatran "corpse flowers" (Titan Arum) bloomed simultaneously. The extraordinary event attracted over 7,000 visitors on Monday, July 6, 2026, eager to witness the phenomenon.

The Titan Arum's bloom is notoriously brief, lasting only 24 to 48 hours. Staff at The Huntington promptly notified the public upon observing the initial stages of blooming on Sunday afternoon. The flowers reached their peak on Sunday night before gradually closing. Despite the limited viewing window, visitors on Monday still had a chance to experience the spectacle, with tickets selling out by Monday morning due to overwhelming public enthusiasm.

Brandon Tam, curator of the orchid collection at The Huntington, noted the public's deep fascination. He observed that visitors were willing to wait up to three hours for just a few minutes with the giant flowers. "People are curious, people are inspired," Tam said, emphasizing how such iconic plants help people appreciate that "plants have their own lives."

People are curious, people are inspired. This phenomenon makes many people love plants more because this iconic plant becomes a real example that helps people understand that plants have their own lives.

— Brandon TamExplaining the public's reaction and the educational impact of the Titan Arum bloom.

The Titan Arum, infamous for its pungent aroma resembling rotting flesh, uses this scent to attract carrion beetles and flesh flies essential for its pollination. Despite being called a "flower," it is a massive inflorescence composed of hundreds of smaller flowers. These plants can grow over 3.6 meters tall and enter a dormancy period lasting years after their short blooming phase.

Cultivated at The Huntington for over 25 years, the institution now boasts more than 43 mature specimens. Many originated from a single plant successfully pollinated in 2002, which yielded hundreds of fruits and subsequently, hundreds of seeds that have been nurtured.

In 2002, we pollinated a corpse flower, which produced hundreds of fruits and then hundreds of seeds that we developed.

— Brandon TamDiscussing the origin of the current Titan Arum specimens at The Huntington.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Republika in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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