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�鶹��ý recommends the corpse flower at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

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By Chelsea Whyte

12 February 2025

Amorphophallus gigas in Brooklyn Botanic Garden — A corpse flower, Amorphophallus gigas, at Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Chris Sprindis/Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Recently, at the in New York, I had a dream come true. I got a whiff of one of the world’s stinkiest plants: a corpse flower called Amorphophallus gigas (pictured above), cousin of Amorphophallus titanum, which grabs headlines whenever one blooms.

The A. gigas I saw was standing about 2 metres high in a suffocatingly hot greenhouse. As I entered and took my first sniff, I must admit I was underwhelmed. It smelled only mildly unpleasant, a bit mildewy, certainly not the stench…

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