Corpse-Like Flower Blooms, New Tourist Attraction

Flowers are usually lovely and known for its fragrant feature. But, nature is indeed mysterious because one flower bloomed and it said to be foul smelling. This flower is the new tourist attraction can be found at Dartmouth College.

Titan Arum or the so-called corpse flower is the new interest by the tourist at the Ivy League college's Life Sciences Greenhouse. The measurement of the flower is 7 ½ foot with a pointy stalk and a skirtlike covering. Its scientific name is Amorphophallus titanium but the experts from the greenhouse call it "Morphy" as a nickname, according to Dartmouth News.

Reports say that Morphy bloomed last Friday and expected to collapse on Sunday. The flower blooms every 5 years and it is known for its awful smell. Once the flower opens, people can see the deep red color on the inside. The outside color of the flower is green.

Kim DeLong, the Dartmouth Greenhouse manager said, that last Friday afternoon Morphy starts to smell like a cigar that is burning. In the full strength of the flower, the smell could be described as decaying animal and urine combined. She added "I've also smelled dirty diapers and rotting fish at different times," according to UPI.com.

Over 2,000 people came to see Morphy last weekend. The awful smell of Morphy peaked last Friday towards Saturday morning. Caretakers of Morphy said that lucky for those who came to visit on Sunday for the smell went a bit off.

In line with this, Kim DeLong is planning to pollinate Morphy, using two paintbrushes and tweezers. It would enable them to share seeds and pollen with other greenhouses and conservatories.

Titan arum is in danger, because of deforestation to give way for palm oil plantations. It can be found in Sumatra's equatorial rain forests and it is a very popular flower when it blooms, as reported by ABC News.