The Titanumin Amorphophallus, also known as Titan Arums, is commonly called “corpse flower” because of the awful smell emitted when it blooms. This flower can be about 10 feet tall and blooms once every six years, or sometimes less frequently.
The flowers corpse recently erupted in several locations across the United States, including Bloomington, Indiana;Sarasota, Florida; Washington DC .; St. Louis and New York. Following a report by the Wall Street Journal, some called this unusual occurrence “ominous”.
But exactly how “unusual” it is?
The University of Wisconsin-Madison reported in 2008 that since 1889 there had been 157 outbreaks of flowers corpse. That study showed a definite increase in the flowering registered from mid 1990. For example, in 1996, despite stretching between Germany and the UK He first recorded four outbreaks in the same year . In 2007, nine flowers sprouted in the United States within a period of three months.
Kew Royal Botanical gardens in the UK say on their website: We now have a lot of plants; these outbreaks have become commonplace, we have seen more flowers of “titan Arums” in Kew in the last six years than in the past 120 years. ”
Kew also notes that its horticulturists now understand better about this flower and therefore the care with more skill, making them spring up more frequently, although this remains unpredictable.
Daniel Janzen, a professor of biology at the University of Pennsylvania, told the Wall Street Journal that plants can flourish at the same time if they are relatives. However, botanists are unsure of the exact origins of the recent outbreaks, so that the explanation was not confirmed.
Meanwhile, the flower called “bad omen”, has inspired headlines and elicited several comments. For example, Jessie Guy-Ryan, Atlas Obscura asked: “Is it really so far – fetched to suggest that Titan Arums the world decided bloom en masse to teach humanity a stinking lesson?”
In beyond Science , The Epoch Times explores research and things related phenomena and theories that challenge our current knowledge. We delve into ideas that stimulate the imagination and open us to new possibilities. Share your ideas with us on these issues sometimes so controversial in the comments section.
