The corpse flower, *Amorphophallus titanum*, nicknamed "Pangy," recently bloomed at Mount Holyoke College, once again attracting significant public attention. This rare tropical plant, native to Sumatra's rainforests, is infamous for its pungent smell, which mimics decaying flesh to entice pollinators like flies and beetles. Director and curator of the Mount Holyoke College Botanic Garden, Tom Clark, noted that the odor, while often described as unbearable, tangy, or like a trash can, serves a crucial evolutionary purpose. Visitors offered diverse descriptions, from rotting eggs and compost to dissecting a dead bird and stinky diapers baking in the sun.
The plant's blooming is unpredictable, often occurring after years of dormancy. Pangy grew rapidly, several inches a day, in the six weeks leading up to its opening overnight Monday. The strong scent was immediately noticeable to staff, with Clark stating it was "overwhelming — literally unbearable" in the greenhouse. The visual aspect of the plant, which is an enormous inflorescence rather than a single flower, features a tall central column (spadix) surrounded by a deep purple, velvety spathe. Despite the odor, many, like Michael Breton who drove two hours, made significant efforts to witness the fleeting spectacle. Another corpse flower, "Chanel," also drew crowds at San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers, with its smell described similarly to wet socks and dead animals.
After a brief period, the inflorescence withers, but the plant's underground structure survives for future blooms. The odor began to dissipate later in the day due to greenhouse ventilation. Corpse flowers cannot self-pollinate, requiring pollen from another *titan arum* for seed production. The name "corpse flower" is a direct translation from the Indonesian "bunga bangkai," further emphasizing its odor quality. These plants are considered threatened or endangered, with only a few thousand remaining in the wild. The Conservatory of Flowers also highlighted past blooms like "Scarlet" and "Mirage," noting these inflorescences can heat up to better diffuse their scent.
