The All-New Book of Amazing Facts, Volume 1

13 Normally when we think of flowers, we picture something small, delicate, and fragrant. But those are not words you’d use to describe one flower growing in the rainforests of Sumatra. Known as the “titan arum,” this giant flower can take up to ten years to produce its first bloom. When it does bloom, you’ll know it. The flower looks like an eight-foot- long loaf of French bread protruding straight up from the deep burgundy and green-pleated skirt that surrounds its base. One record-breaking specimen in a botanical garden in New Hampshire had a central spike reaching more than 10 feet high and leaves 13 feet around. This plant is also heavy, with some specimens weighing in at over 300 pounds. The titan arum is also known as the “corpse flower” because it emits a sickening smell. Some have described the odor as a cross between dirty socks, garlic, limburger cheese, and rotten fish. The plant produces the rotten smell for about 48 hours to attract the flies and beetles that help pollinate it. It’s hard to imagine such a large, majestic flower producing such a powerful stench. The Bible says Satan’s counterfeits often work the same way—appealing at first, but rotten when one has been deceived by them. “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). Titan Arum Big Bad Flower Animals & Biology