The giant Amorphophallus titanum blooms in Bogor Botanical Garden

Bogor, West Java (Indonesia Window) – Amorphophallus titanum in the Bogor Botanical Garden, West Java, bloomed on Friday (Jan 3) night following the first bud which appeared on December 3, 2019.

The corpse flower of Araceae family reaches 194 centimeters, according to a statement quoted from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) website here on Monday.

The flower bulb is also large, weighing up to 117 kilograms. The bulb was obtained from the cooperation between LIPI and the Liwa Botanical Garden, Lampung.

A researcher from the LIPI’s Plant and Botanical Conservation Research Center, Dian Latifah, explained that Amorphophallus titanum is different from Rafflesia even though both of them are commonly known as corpse flowers.

“Rafflesia is a parasitic plant with the host tree, Tetrastigma spp., or forest grapes,” Dian explained, adding that Amorphophallus titanum has an discontinuous leaf and flower phases.

“The leaf phase can reach one to two years. After that the bulb will enter a period of rest or dormancy which can last more than one and a half years before the flower bloom,” Dian said.

She added that the inflorescences of Amorphophallus titanum were a group of small male and female flowersattached to the bottom of a cob.

“The yellow cob or spadix is surrounded by a purple red spatha (protective leaf). Spadix could reach three meters height, making Amorphophallus titanum dubbed the Giant Flower,” Dian said.

Amorphophallus titanum is among the endangered plants based on the classification of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Indonesian Government protect it under the Regulation No. 7 of 1999.

Bogor’s Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto has recently visited the Bogor Botanical Garden to enjoy the uniqueness of Amorphophallus titanium.

Reporting by Indonesia Window