Had a quick trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden today and had a chance to see this bad boy/girl. It is known as the corpse flower and only blooms every few years, which is probably good because they smell like rotting flesh when the do bloom. They are native to Indonesia. There is more info in the links below. The Botanic Garden has a few, and they all have names. Agnostic, meet Java.
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6 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I know that plant and first saw it on one of David Attenborough's series on plants. One showed up at a conservatory in one of Seattle's parks. There are other plants in this category and one is called a VooDoo Lily. I have some here and they are strange plants that do smell like a corpse when fertile. They are seeking insects (like flies) to pollinate them. They are grown from a bulb which does multiply and need to occasionally be thinned. They don't seem fussy about soil or light. [plantdelights.com]
JackPedigo
Level 9
May 19, 2019
0
Nice website.
I want one. I wonder how hard they are to grow?
Carin
Level 8
May 18, 2019
0
Good question. You would need a semi tropical environment to stat with, and some space.
I bought a house years ago with a smaller relative of that, one purple bloom yearly right below my kitchen window that stank terribly and attracted flies. Rather beautiful, and fascinating, and now wish I'd dug it up to take and transplant with me . . . somewhere further from the house!
tinkercreek
Level 8
May 18, 2019
1
Voodoo lily maybe?
These plants attract flies as pollinators. It's why they smell the way they do. I can't imagine having such an odor around, although I have been curious. I prefer the flowers that prefer bees to pollinate them. 
@RussRAB Yeah, why would anyone want to attract flies?
See my comment. When the plant dies back dig up a few bulbs and transplant them. Just for laughs plant some in a neighbor's or friend's yard and see their reaction.
I remember a skunk plant, possibly in the Pacific Northwest. Lovely flower but OMG!
HippieChick58
Level 9
May 18, 2019
4
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