The Botanical Garden in Meise, just outside of Brussels, is celebrating a momentous occasion, as one of its titan arum, also known as the "corpse" plant, is officially the biggest in the world.
Several flowerings of the titan arum or Amorphophallus titanum –which in itself as a species is the world's largest flowering plant – have already taken place at the Plantentuin Meise (in May and earlier this month). However, the latest blooming which started this week (the 20th at the botanical garden) is a special occasion, as the flowering plant is the largest of its kind in the world.
"This is the largest officially registered cultivated giant arum in the world," the Botanical Garden's spokesperson Manon van Hoye told The Brussels Times. "The official height is 322.5 centimetres."
The calyx weighs a whopping 112 kilograms, with the centre now looking to make the record official.
Credit: Plantentuin Meise
Van Hoye confirmed that Meise is now filing for the Guinness World Record for the largest titan arum, following the official measurement on Tuesday morning, which established its official size.
The previous record has been held since 2010 by a plant of 3 metres and 10 centimetres plant in Gilford, United States. The first world record registered by Guinness was a plant measuring 3 metres and 6 centimetres, housed at the Botanical Garden in Bonn (2003).
In the wild, the plant – also known as a "corpse" plant due to its smell of rotting flesh and "penis" plant for its shape and scientific name which means "misshapen penis" – can only be found in Sumatra, where it grows in the tropical rainforest. It blooms between October and March, during the rainy season.
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This latest flowering plant and the specimen that flowered last week, which is 2 metres 17 centimetres tall, can be admired in the Citrus Orangery of the Green Ark, the new conservatory complex where the rare and endangered plants of the Botanical Garden are nurtured.
The flowering of the giant arum lasts only 48 to 72 hours. As has been the case during the previous flowerings, the Botanical Garden will therefore remain open until 21:00 on Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 August to give as many people as possible a chance to come and admire the flower.
