It’s an interesting week for horticulture enthusiasts in San Francisco. The SF Conservatory of Flowers announced that its rare Corpse Flower is about to bloom, an event that occurs only every few years.
SF’s blooming Corpse Flower
This isn’t your average flower. The Corpse Flower (morphophallus titanum) is massive in size, and can reach up to 10 feet tall with a bloom that is 3 feet across. If that wasn’t enough, the flower is known for its rotting-flesh smell. The flower will only bloom for approximately two days, so the chance to see (and smell) the rare flower is very brief.
According to the Conservatory of Flowers, the Corpse Flower, affectionately named Scarlett, is expected to bloom in the next 5 to 12 days. The last time Scarlet bloomed was in July 2023, which marks almost 3 years.
How to see the Corpse Flower
The Conservatory of Flowers is free to visit for San Francisco residents, but expect many other visitors eager to see the flowers if you plan to go. The conservatory will post frequent updates about the flowers’ bloom on social media. If you can’t make it in person to the conservatory during the fleeting bloom, you can expect a live stream of the flower to be available on the conservatory’s website.
The SF Conservatory of Flowers is located in Golden Gate Park, and along with the Corpse Flower, it is known to have an expansive collection of plants.
Why does the Corpse Flower smell?
While the flower’s pungent, rotting smell is off-putting to us, it actually helps attract beetles and flies, which pollinate the flower. The fascinating flower grows in Sumatra, Indonesia, and fewer than 1,000 remain in their natural habitat, making it endangered.
