SYDNEY — A rare, endangered plant that emits the smell of rotting flesh drew hundreds of devoted fans to a Sydney greenhouse on Thursday, where they joined three-hour lines to experience the momentous blooms — and a scent reminiscent of socks and rot. garbage
Tall, pointed and smelly, the cadaver flower is scientifically known as titan amorphophallus – or bunga bangkai in Indonesia, where the plant is found in the rainforests of Sumatra.
But to the adherents of this model she is Putricia, the model of the “rotten” and “Patricia” readily accepted by her followers, who naturally call themselves Putricians. For a week, she graced a majestic and gothic display in front of a purple curtain and shrouded in mist from a humidifier at the Royal Sydney Botanic Gardens.
Her rise to fame was rapid, with up to 20,000 fans passing by her increasingly dramatic presence. Not a single corpse flower bloomed in the garden for 15 years.
Only 300 plants are thought to exist in the wild and less than 1,000 including cultivated ones. In its natural habitat, the corpse flower blooms only once every 7-10 years.
“The fact that they open very rarely, so they rarely flower, obviously puts them at a bit of a disadvantage in the wild,” said garden spokeswoman Sophie Daniel, who designed the intricate and funerary display of Putricia. “When they open, they have to hope that another flower has opened nearby, because they can’t self-pollinate.”
After seven years in the garden, the Putricia flower was spotted in December when it was only 25 centimeters tall. By Thursday, her height was 1.6 meters.
During the day, her flower spike slowly opened like a pleated skirt around a majestic central tuber, the yellow-green outer curl revealing a burgundy center.
As excitement for the blooms grew in Sydney, garden staff erected crowd barriers, giving the Victorian conservatory the atmosphere of a rock concert. Fans walked the red carpet to catch a glimpse of Putricia from behind the velvet ropes in a display inspired by Queen Victoria’s funeral, the horror film Rocky and the work of the late director David Lynch.
Inside, fans snapped selfies and leaned in for a sniff — a more dangerous prospect when Putricia’s scent began to waft. People inhaled the stench of “slaughterhouse” and canceled dinner plans, Sydney Morning Herald science reporter Angus Dalton said.
“I got sick,” he added. “I’m thrilled.”
One young woman raised her hands and bowed as if in worship. On social media, garden staff performed a viral dance in front of the plant to Chappelle Roan’s summer hit HOT TO GO!
It was hard to say why the regal, mysterious and smelly flower attracted so many admirers – but perhaps the answer lay in the “awe” that viewers felt in the presence of “such an amazing living creature”, Daniel said.
Along with her real-life visitors, Putricia’s internet fandom was fast, global and very strange – if less smelly. The 24-hour live stream created by the botanical garden has garnered nearly a million views in less than a week and sparked a common language of memes and inside jokes.
Commonly used abbreviations included WWTF, or we’re watching the flower, WDNRP, we’re taking our time, Putricia, and BBTB, or let there be a bloom. “Putricia is a metaphor for my life,” wrote one poster, who did not elaborate.
Commenters on social media planned to rush to the garden as the plant opened. In just 24 hours, Putricia’s blooms – and her stench – will be gone.
When it bloomed, the plant warmed to 37 degrees Celsius to better spread its scent, attracting flies and carrion beetles, which burrowed inside and laid their eggs. Work then began on hand-pollinating the plant to ensure diversity and survival of the species.
But first, thousands of Putrizians tried to get as close as possible to their hero of the week.
“We had a few conversations early on about whether we should have vomit bags in the room,” Daniel said, adding that garden staff eventually decided against it. “I haven’t heard of anyone really getting hurt.”
Graham Maclay reported from Wellington, New Zealand.
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