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| Category: Bulb/Tuber/Rhizome etc. |
| Family: Araceae (Arums) |
| Origin: Indonesia (Asia) |
| Flower Color: Maroon |
| Bloomtime: Infrequent |
| Fragrant Flowers: Yes |
| Height: 10-16 feet |
| Width: 4-6 feet |
| Exposure: Cool Sun/Light Shade |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): High Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: >32° F |
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Amorphophallus titanum (Titan Lily) - The titan lily, or corpse flowers as it is also known, grows from a large tuber which can reach 170 pounds or more. It produces a single, huge umbrella-like compound leaf that can reach over 12 feet high in greenhouse cultivation and is known to reach 20 feet tall and 15 feet across in the wild. This leaf can live for about a year. The tuber then enters a short dormant period before producing another leaf or flower. When it flowers, a huge inflorescence forms, bearing the typical aroid arrangement of the spathe and spadix which bears tiny male and female flowers. In the case of the Corpse Flower, the fleshy maroon-colored spathe is up to 3 feet across with frilly edges with the central spadix up to 6 feet tall. The spathe unfurls about 3 weeks after the bud tip first appears. The flower typically stays open for two days. When the flower is fully open, it emits a repulsive scent which is strongest at night to attract pollinators such as carrion beetles, flies and sweat bees. This plant was discovered by the Italian botanist and explorer Dr. Odoardo Beccari in 1878 in the rainforests of central Sumatra in western Indonesia. The first specimen flowered in cultivation at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England in 1889. In 1999 the Huntington flowered their Amorphophallus titanum and made national news as it was the first-ever flowering of this rare plant in California, and only the 11th recorded bloom in the United States. It may take 15 years or more for this plant to mature from seed and bloom and thereafter flowering generally occurs on alternate leaves with other years it produces an amazingly large single leaf, so it is rare to see a blooming plant except in botanical collections. A plant flowered at the University of California Santa Barbara Biology Greenhouse in August 2002. This plant, named "Tiny" was hand pollinated by Greenhouse Manager Barron Rugge using pollen from the Huntington Garden's plant. When the seed matured Baron shared some of the seed with us and we had a crop that we sold to our California customers in 2004 but have not had any plants to sell since. A sister seedling to our plants, that has since been named Chanel, started blooming at UCSB in July 2013 - information and images of this plant can be found on their website at UCSB Amorphophallus titanum. Plants have also flowered regularly at the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory and at the Huntington Botanic Gardens. Other common names for this plant are Titan Arum and Titan Lily.
The information about Amorphophallus titanum displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant. |
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