The largest flower in the world, a native of the Sumatran rain forests, the Titan Arum is a real doozy, standing at about 12 feet high and, when in full bloom, as much as 15 feet wide. It's corm weighs an average of 100 pounds during the growing season, which, in its native ground, is the monsoon season. Perhaps for some, though, the most impressive thing about the Titan Arum is the stench - that's right, the common name for it is "Corpse Flower", and if you head to St. Peter's Gustavus Adolphus College in the next few days, you will find out why.
"People have described [the flower's smell] as rotting meat flesh," said Gustavus senior Alex Burum, who helps care for Perry, which is short for Hyperion, a Greek deity.
"We've had some concerns from professors about how Nobel [Hall] will smell for a few days," said the college's greenhouse manager, Emily Hoefs.
Said associate chemistry Prof. Brian O'Brien, who received Perry as a seed from a San Francisco doctor in 1993 and promptly planted it: "Some say it has more of a feces smell."
Said Hoefs: "I've heard it can also smell like bread. Rotting fruit." There was one final smells-like: "Fried fish," O'Brien said.
You can read more about Perry the Corpse Flower here.
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