The titan arum is a member of the Aroid Family (Araceae) that includes skunk cabbage, calla lilies, caladiums, jack-in-the-pulpit, and common houseplants such as philodendron and spathiphyllum (peace lily). There are an estimated 150-170 species in the Amorphophallus genus, all native to the Asian or African tropics.

Since the first recorded bloom in the United States in 1937, titan arums have been exhibited in this country on just a few occasions. Many will recall that a titan arum owned by the U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG) bloomed, for its second time, while on display here at the Conservatory in July 2003, generating an enormous response of about 10,000 visitors on the peak day. As small seedlings, the USBG plant and this specimen, owned by the Smithsonian, were given to the two institutions in October 1993 by Maryland arum enthusiasts Craig and Fanny Phillips. The Phillipses had grown the plants from seed collected in 1991 by California physician James R. Symon, who had searched for the titan arum during several journeys to Sumatra. (Symon later traveled in Sumatra with Sir David Attenborough in 1993, finding the plant again for the filming of the BBC production "The Private Life of Plants.")

At full bloom the titan arum inflorescence is well-known for smelling like rotting meat, hence its other common name, "corpse flower." It is hypothesized, but not yet documented, that the primary pollinating insects of the flowers are carrion beetles in the family Silphidae. These beetles typically excavate beneath bodies of dead animals, allowing the body to sink into the ground, and burrow into it to lay their eggs. The titan arum tricks these carrion beetles by mimicking rotting flesh with the dull red color of the bloom and intense odor of carrion. The outwitted beetles are in for a two-day visit: on the first day, the beetles are lured into the flowers by the smell and are trapped at the bottom of the big, funnel-like spathe by downward pointing hairs. Imprisoned, they spend the night, pollinate the female flowers that open first in the inflorescence, and lay their eggs. On the second day, the male flowers open, and the beetles, dusted with pollen, make their escape. They crawl out of the spathe and fly to visit other flowers that are opening for the first time. This system has evolved in a number of different plants, including other aroids, wild gingers, and milkweeds. The titan arum seeds have been said to be dispersed by hornbills and other birds in its native Sumatra.

Amorphophallus has edible corms that are used as a source of starch by local peoples. Some species are collected in the wild for this purpose and at least one is cultivated as a crop. For now, none appear to be threatened because of over-collecting by local people. But the titan arum may be threatened in its native regions because of habitat loss and degradation resulting from human activities.

This specimen of Amorphophallus titanum is part of the living research collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany. As "Botanical Partners on the Mall," the Smithsonian and the U.S. Botanic Garden agreed that the USBG Conservatory provides the optimal environment (very warm, bright, and humid) for the titan arum to bloom. It was brought from the Smithsonian Department of Botany Research Greenhouses in Suitland, MD on the morning of Tuesday, November 8. This is the first time ever that this plant has bloomed. Predicting bloom time for a titan arum is not an exact science; like people, they are all different. For current information on this plant's progress -updated daily -contact the USBG (www.usbg.gov, 202-225-8333) or the National Museum of Natural History (www.mnh.si.edu/botanv, 202-633-1000). Once fully open, the titan arum may remain in bloom for 24 to 48 hours, and then it will collapse quickly. At the peak of flowering, the plant will be hand-pollinated by the research staff with pollen from the plant that bloomed in 2003 in an attempt to produce a second generation of seed.