Titan arum 54038 219989973 2008-06-17T19:54:17Z BillyPanther 7327531 /* External links */ added link to EIU titan arum page {{Taxobox | color = lightgreen | name = Titan arum | image = Titan-arum1web.jpg | image_width = 200px | regnum = [[Plant]] | divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]] | classis = [[Liliopsida]] | ordo = [[Alismatales]] | familia = [[Araceae]] | genus = ''[[Amorphophallus]]'' | species = '''''A. titanum''''' | binomial = ''Amorphophallus titanum'' | binomial_authority = ([[Odoardo Beccari|Becc.]]) Becc. ex Arcang }} The '''titan arum''' or ''Amorphophallus titanum'' (from [[Ancient Greek]] ''amorphos'', "without form, misshapen" + ''phallos'', "[[penis]]", and ''[[titan]]'', "giant") is a [[flowering plant]] with the largest unbranched [[inflorescence]] in the world. The largest ''single'' flower is borne by the ''[[Rafflesia arnoldii]]''; the largest ''branched'' inflorescence in the [[plant]] kingdom belongs to the [[Talipot palm]] (''Corypha umbraculifera''). The titan arum was originally discovered by an Italian botanist, [[Odoardo Beccari]], in [[Sumatra]] in 1878. Though found in many botanic gardens around the world it is still indigenous only to the tropical forests of Sumatra. Due to its [[fragrance]], which is reminiscent of the smell of a [[decomposition|decomposing]] [[mammal]]<ref name="BBG">[http://www.bbg.org/vis2/2006/titan/info/history.html "History and Botany of the Titan Arum"] from the [[Brooklyn Botanic Garden]]</ref>, the titan arum is also known as a [[carrion flower]], the "[[wikt:corpse|Corpse]] flower", or "Corpse plant" (in [[Indonesia]]n, "bunga bangkai" &ndash; ''bunga'' means flower, while ''bangkai'' means corpse or cadaver; for the same reason, the same title is also attributed to ''[[Rafflesia]]'' which, like the titan arum, also grows in the [[rainforests]] of [[Sumatra]]). The popular name titan arum was invented by the broadcaster and naturalist Sir [[David Attenborough]], for his [[BBC]] TV series [[The Private Life of Plants]], in which the flowering and pollination of the plant were filmed for the first time. Attenborough felt that constantly referring to the plant as ''Amorphophallus'' on a popular TV documentary would be inappropriate<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml;jsessionid=BMIDSMB4FSVSNQFIQMFCFFOAVCBQYIV0?xml=/earth/2008/01/05/eadavid105.xml&page=3 David Attenborough: a wild life - Telegraph<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. == Characteristics == [[image:titan.arum.kewgardens.london.arp.jpg|thumb|left|Titan Arum at [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|Royal Botanic Gardens]], [[Kew]], [[London]] on [[8 June]] [[2005]], ten days before it opened. The plant is at the stage where the grooved [[spathe]] is being revealed, with just peeping above it the darker green [[spadix]]. The spathe will fold open to produce a red bell-shaped structure at the base of the spadix. The plant is about 3&nbsp;[[foot (unit of length)|feet]] (1&nbsp;[[metre]]) high in this picture.]] The titan arum's inflorescence can reach over 3&nbsp;[[metre]]s (almost 10 ft.) in height. Like the related [[arum maculatum|cuckoo pint]] and [[calla lily]], it consists of a fragrant [[spadix]] of flowers wrapped by a [[spathe]], which looks like the flower's single petal. In the case of the Titan Arum, the spathe is green on the outside and dark burgundy red on the inside, and deeply furrowed. The spadix is hollow, pale yellow and resembles a large loaf of [[French bread]]. The upper, visible portion of the spadix is covered in pollen, while its lower extremity is spangled with bright red-orange [[carpel|carpels]]. The "fragrance" of the inflorescence resembles rotting [[meat]], attracting [[carrion]]-eating [[beetle]]s and Flesh Flies ''(family [[Sarcophagidae]])'' that [[pollination|pollinate]] it. The flower's deep red color and texture contribute to the illusion that the spathe is a piece of meat. During bloom, the tip of the spadix is approximately human body temperature, which helps the perfume volatilize; this heat is also believed to assist in the illusion that attracts carcass-eating insects. Both male and female flowers grow in the same [[inflorescence]]. The female flowers open first, then a day or two following, the male flowers open. This prevents the flower from [[self-pollination|self-pollinating]]. After the flower dies back, a single leaf, which reaches the size of a small tree, grows from the underground [[corm]]. The leaf grows on a semi-green stalk that branches into three sections at the top, each containing many leaflets. The leaf structure can reach up to 6&nbsp;m (20 ft) tall and 5&nbsp;m (16 ft) across. Each year, the old leaf dies and a new one grows in its place. When the corm has stored enough energy, it becomes dormant for about 4 months. Then, the process repeats. ==Cultivation== [[Image:Titan arum open.JPG|thumb|upright|Open flower at [[United States Botanic Garden]], [[Washington, DC]], on [[23 November]] [[2005]], 4 days after flowering, with the [[spathe]] half collapsed.]] {{seealso|List of publicised titan arum blooms in cultivation}} The titan arum grows only in the wild in the [[equator|equatorial]] [[rainforest]]s of [[Sumatra]], [[Indonesia]]. It was first described in [[1878]] by [[Italy|Italian]] [[botanist]] [[Odoardo Beccari]]. The plant flowers only infrequently in the wild and even more rarely when cultivated. It first flowered in cultivation at the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|Royal Botanic Gardens]], at [[Kew]] in [[London]], in 1889, with over 100 cultivated blossoms since then. The first documented flowerings in the [[United States of America|United States]] were at [[New York Botanical Garden]] in 1937 and 1939. This flowering also inspired the designation of the titan arum as the official flower of the [[Bronx]] in 1939, only to be replaced in 2000 by the [[day lily]]. The number of cultivated plants has increased in recent years, and it is not uncommon for there to be five or more flowering events in gardens around the world in a single year. The titan arum is more commonly available to the advanced gardener due to pollination techniques. Until 2005, the tallest bloom in cultivation, some 2.74&nbsp;m (8 ft. 11 in.) high, was achieved at the [http://www.botgart.uni-bonn.de/amorpho2003e.html Botanical Gardens] of [[Bonn]], [[Germany]] in 2003. The event was acknowledged by the [[Guinness Book of Records]] (see the [http://www.botanik.uni-bonn.de/botgart/o_samm/guinness.htm certificate]). On [[20 October]] [[2005]], this record was broken at the botanical and zoological garden [[Wilhelma]] in [[Stuttgart]], [[Germany]]. The bloom reached a height of 2.91&nbsp;m (9 ft. 6 in.). ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{commons|Amorphophallus titanum}} {{wikispecies|Amorphophallus titanum}} * [http://culturesheet.org/araceae:amorphophallus:titanum Culture and care] on CultureSheet.org * [http://www.usbg.gov/gardens/Titan-Arum-Blooms-2007.cfm Return of the Titan] (United States Botanic Garden) * [http://www.gustavus.edu/academics/bio/titanarum/ Three Webcams of Titan plus time-lapse videos] at [[Gustavus Adolphus College]] in Saint Peter, Minnesota * [http://www.huntington.org/BotanicalDiv/Titan2002/Titan2002.html Titan at Huntington Botanical Gardens, California] * [http://www.hortus.leidenuniv.nl/english/index.php3?m=13&c=35 Titan at Hortus Botanicus Leiden] * [http://news.wisc.edu/titanarum/ Titan Arum at University of Wisconsin, Madison] * [http://persoon.si.edu/titan/ 2005 Bloom at U.S. Botanic Garden (Smithsonian Institution's plant)] * [http://www.usbg.gov/your-visit/Titan-Day-1.cfm 2003 Bloom at U.S. Botanic Garden] * [http://webstreamer2.doit.wisc.edu/titan_arum/ 2005 Bloom] * [http://www.callipygian.com/3D/corpseplant.html 3D Photo of 2004 bloom at Walt Disney World] (Requires red/cyan 3D Glasses) * [http://www.news.wisc.edu/titanarum2005/bloomings.html List of bloomings in the US since 1937] * [http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/Titan_Arum_Archive/table.html List of bloomings, 1889 to 2005] * [http://aroid.org/genera/amorphophallus/bonnculture/ How to grow a Titan Arum] * [http://greenhouse.ucdavis.edu/conservatory/ UC Davis Botanical Conservatory] * [http://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/program/event_des/titan.html 2007 Bloom at UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens] * [http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200806140405/COMMUNITIES36/806140331 New Jersey man awaits 'monster' bloom] * [http://www.eiu.edu/~biology/news/titan_arum.htm Titan Arum at Eastern Illinois University] [[Category:Araceae]] [[Category:Flora of Indonesia]] [[ar:زهرة الجثة]] [[de:Titanenwurz]] [[es:Amorphophallus titanum]] [[eo:Kadavrofloro]] [[fa:گل بدبو]] [[fr:Arum titan]] [[ilo:Titan arum]] [[id:Bunga bangkai]] [[it:Amorphophallus titanum]] [[lt:Gigantiškasis amorfofalas]] [[ms:Pokok Bunga Bangkai]] [[nl:Amorphophallus titanum]] [[ja:スマトラオオコンニャク]] [[pt:Flor-cadáver]] [[uk:Аморфофаллус гігантський]] [[ur:لوف جسیم]] [[zh:巨花魔芋]]