From towering redwood forests and sprawling beaches to deserts filled with wildflowers, California is packed with natural wonders. But some of the state’s most fascinating sights don’t grow in the wild at all.
Instead, they’re carefully cultivated inside world-class botanical gardens, where visitors can admire rare plants from across the globe. Soon, one of the most bizarre plants on Earth will steal the spotlight in San Marino, as not one but two corpse flowers are expected to bloom at The Huntington.
Two orpse flowers are about to bloom at The Huntington
If one corpse flower blooming is already a major event, imagine what it means for our noses to have two blooming at nearly the same time! That’s something even the most seasoned botanists rarely get to witness.
The Huntington has just announced that two Titan Arums (Amorphophallus titanum) are expected to bloom in the coming weeks, creating a rare opportunity for visitors to experience one of the world’s largest, strangest, and smelliest flowering plants.
One of the plants, affectionately nicknamed Odora, last bloomed in 2024, while the second specimen, Odorysseus, will be making its public debut. The spectacle is famously short-lived: once the towering flower opens, it remains in bloom for only 24 to 48 hours, making timing everything.
If you can’t make it to the Huntington in time, you can still follow the action through their livestream, which tracks the flowers as they prepare to open and during their brief bloom.
The Huntington is home to one of North America’s largest collections of Titan Arums, with more than 43 mature plants growing on site. Since hosting California’s first corpse flower bloom in 1999, the institution has recorded 27 blooms, accounting for nearly one-fifth of all documented blooms in the United States.
Why do the corpse flowers smell like… that?
Despite its name, the corpse flower isn’t actually a single flower. It’s a massive flowering structure called an inflorescence, made up of hundreds of tiny flowers clustered together. Native to the rainforests of western Sumatra, Indonesia, the endangered species can grow over 12 feet tall and, during peak development, stretch as much as six inches in a single day.
Its infamous rotting meat smell is no accident. During its brief bloom, the plant releases compounds that mimic the scent of decaying flesh, attracting carrion beetles and flesh flies, the insects that pollinate it in the wild. It even generates heat, helping disperse the odor farther through the surrounding air.
With fewer than 1,000 plants believed to remain in the wild, every bloom also plays a role in conservation. At The Huntington, horticulturists hand-pollinate the flowers, collect seeds when successful, and share pollen, corms, and plant material with botanical institutions around the world.
The goal is to strengthen cultivated populations while reducing pressure on wild plants threatened by habitat loss and illegal collection.
