Panorama Photo

On May 10 this year, University Ghent proudly announced that the 'Plantentuin' succeeded for the second time to blossom an Amorphophallus titanum (Dutch: Reuzenaronskelk, German: Titanenwurz).
Since I read the news the next day, I immediately went to Ghent because the bloom lasts for only two days.
The Amorphallus titanum is the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world and native solely in the rain forests of western Sumatra, Indonesia. The 'flower' in Ghent measured a height of 246 cm. Botanically speaking this isn't a flower but an inflorescence comprised of a yellowish spadix wrapped by a big purple-reddish spathe (kind of leaf) which looks like a petal (pics 2,3,4). Near the bottom of the spadix you find a ring of small female flowers and above a ring of small male flowers. The bloom itself is comprised of two phases spread over two nights. During the first night, the female flowers open followed by the male flowers the second night. This is to prevent self-pollinating. When the female flowers are ready for pollination the tip of the spadix warms up to human body temperature and spreads a disgusting, rotten meat smell to attract certain beetles and flesh flies to accomplish pollination. If successful, red berries appear which are spread by birds.
After the flower dies back, a single leaf structure grows from the underground corm. This leaf structure can reach up to 6 m height and 5 m across (pic1). Each year, the old leaf dies and a new one grows up. When the corm has stored enough energy (sugars) it becomes dormant for several months. Then the process repeats. But sometimes and rather rarely, the plant decides not to produce a leaf but a spectacular inflorescence.

Canon G1Xmark2, collage pano stitched with Turbocollage 6.