Amorphophallus

titanium
Titan Arum
Brief Summary

Biology
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The giant leaves and flowers of the titan arum are produced from an equally enormous tuber that lies under the
rainforest soil, and acts as a food storage organ (4). Each year the leaf dies back before a new one develops but
eventually the inflorescence begins to emerge in its place, growing at an amazing 10 cm a day (3). Once the spathe has
unfurled in all its glory the female flowers are ready to receive pollinators. The spadix heats up emitting a putrid stench
that has lead to the Indonesian name for this flower of 'bunga bangkai' or 'corpse flower' (2). It is thought that the
smell helps to attract carrion beetles or sweat bees from far away; once inside the welcoming spathe they are trapped,
unable to scale the smooth walls or the bulge in the spadix that tops the flowers. Male flowers release their pollen the
next day and the appendix of the spadix begins to wither, thus allowing the insects to escape, brushing through the pollen
on their way (2). This mechanism of consecutive flowering means that self-fertilisation is prevented (5). After
flowering, the enormous spathe petal collapses and twists around the base of the spadix, protecting the developing fruit
within. As the fruits ripen, the spathe completely rots away leaving the bright red berries on display to be eaten, and
therefore dispersed, by rainforest birds such as hornbills (2).

Description
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The spectacular titan arum produces the world's largest compound flower or inflorescence; the largest of which is reported
to have reached 3.5 metres tall (2). Years may pass between flowering events but when the time does come this plant
produces a truly spectacular bloom. A large bud appears on the forest floor and with remarkable speed the flower grows
and opens to its full size (4). As with all members of the Arum family the inflorescence consists of a petal-like
structure known as a 'spathe' and a flower-bearing spike, the 'spadix'; the whole structure is borne on a stout stalk only
25 – 35 cm high (2). The spathe resembles an upturned bell with a frilly margin, the outside is pale green but when it
unfurls the inner crimson walls are displayed (3). The spadix emerges above the spathe, the upper portion is known as
the appendix and is brownish-yellow in colour. The male and female flowers are situated on the lower portions of the
spadix where they are sheltered by the giant spathe. The tightly packed cream male flowers are found in a band above
the female flowers (2). Once pollinated, the female flowers develop into olive-sized bright red fruits that are carried in
cylindrical clusters up to half a metre long (2). The single leaf of the titan arum is also gigantic in size; resembling a
small tree rather than a leaf, it can tower up to 5 metres tall and divides into an umbrella-like canopy that can be 7
metres across (2).

Habitat
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The titan arum dwells in the rainforests of western Sumatra, on steep hillsides that are 120 – 365 metres above sea
level (2).

Functional adaptation
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Oils vaporize to create scent: titan arum

Oils in the titan arum plant are volatilized to release its unique scent by raising the internal temperature.

Modify > Modify physical state > Phase

"To produce its perfume, the plant [titan arum] raises its internal temperature several degrees above that of its
surroundings and vaporises oils secreted in its heart." (Attenborough 1995:140)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.

Threats
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The rainforests of Sumatra are under massive threat of deforestation, as vast areas are logged for timber and to make
way for palm plantations. It is estimated that Indonesia has now lost around 72% of its original rainforest cover and
the scale of deforestation is continuing at an alarming rate (6). As well as affecting titan arum numbers directly, the
loss of habitat is also endangering species such as the rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros), which is an important
seed distributor (6).

Management
Conservation
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The Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney and Bogor Botanic Gardens, Indonesia have been working together on conservation
techniques for this rainforest giant. As well as investigating propagation techniques, surveys of wild plants have been
undertaken and educational materials produced (7). This plant has previously proved very difficult to grow in
cultivation; ongoing research may provide the key to the continued survival of this spectacular member of the plant
kingdom.
WIKIPEDIA

Amorphophallus titanum
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Amorphophallus titanum (from Ancient Greek amorphos, "without form, misshapen" + phallos, "phallus", and titan,
"giant"), known as the titan arum, is a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. The titan
arum's inflorescence is not as large as that of the talipot palm, Corypha umbraculifera, but the inflorescence of the
talipot palm is branched rather than unbranched.

Due to its odor, which is reminiscent of the smell of a decomposing mammal, the titan arum is characterized as
a carrion flower, and is also known as the corpse flower, or corpse plant (Indonesian: bunga bangkai – bunga means
flower, while bangkai can be translated as corpse, cadaver, or carrion). For the same reason, the title corpse floweris
also attributed to the genus Rafflesia which, like the titan arum, grows in the rainforests of Sumatra.