A rare, smelly plant at Barnard College is blooming after years of growth.
Barnard College has an Amorphophallus titanum, or corpse flower, growing in the Arthur Ross Greenhouse. The plant is native to Sumatra, Indonesia and can reach over ten feet high. As the name suggests, when in bloom the endangered corpse plant gives off an odor similar to the smell of a rotting corpse.
Barnard College’s corpse flower came to the school from the Brooklyn Botanical Garden in 2014 and was the size of a potato, according to their website. The plant has since grown to stand over five feet tall and weighs over 40 pounds, and has grown 4 to 6 inches per day since April 2020.
Watch the livestream on Barnard College’s YouTube channel below:
