Section Branding
Header Content
'It could be a once in a lifetime opportunity.' Rare African corpse flower blooms in Atlanta
Hero Image
Primary Content
Visitors to the Atlanta Botanical Garden were treated to a rare spectacle—an African corpse flower, known for its foul stench, bloomed in captivity, marking a unique event that may not happen again for years.
Visitors to the Atlanta Botanical Garden were treated to a rare spectacle — an African corpse flower, known for its foul stench, bloomed in captivity, marking a unique event that may not happen again for years.
"It does not bloom very often at all; it's a very rare thing," explained Derek Pinson, a tropical horticulturalist at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. "We don’t really know what specific conditions came together to cause it to bloom, but there’s a possibility it won’t happen again for a very long time.”
The plant, known scientifically as Aristolochia goldieana, emits a strong odor similar to rotting flesh to attract pollinators like flies. The smell really only lasts the first day it blooms, according to Pinson.
It's native to Central Africa and found in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. The flower requires a tropical climate with high humidity and warm temperatures.
It's the first time the flower has bloomed since 2020, in the garden's Fuqua Conservatory. Unlike the previous event, this time the flower produced four blooms. They lasted a little over a week, drawing in curious visitors eager to catch a glimpse — and a whiff — of the rare flowers.
One visitor, Julia Jones, rushed to see the blooms after hearing about their short lifespan.
“I was scared it was going to die off before I got here," she said. "I knew it was something I couldn’t miss.”
For now, the blooms have faded, but Pinson and others hope this extraordinary event will inspire more people to explore the world of plants.
“Sometimes all it takes is something so fascinating and rare to open your eyes to the incredible plants around us,” Pinson said.
Secondary Content
Author
Bottom Content
