Corpse flower 'Arthur' at Hamilton greenhouse is ready for a bloom that smells like death

Any day now Arthur, the stenchy corpse flower, will make the McMaster biology greenhouse reek of death. 

A corpse flower can take from five to 10 years before it blooms for the first time, releasing a foul smell.

"It's very weird," says McMaster Biology professor Susan Dudley. 

"We've given tours and people who have smelled dead bodies say 'yes, that's what it smells like.'"

Dudley, who is also the facilities supervisor of the greenhouse, said she wasn't expecting Arthur to bloom this year and because of a lack of big pots, Arthur was planted in a garbage can.

"It broke through the garbage can this spring."

After putting the plant in a larger pot, Dudley said they realized the plant turned out to be a bloom.

"I honestly expected this one to be a leaf again, but surprise! It's a bloom."

Arthur expected to bloom over the weekend

The Amorphophallus titanium — which translates to "misshapen giant penis" — commonly known as the corpse flower, is the world's tallest flower and can stand over two meters.

"We're at 1.77 meters right now, but it's still growing."

Dudley said she's expecting the flower to bloom over the weekend at the greenhouse, where volunteers will help open it up to the public. 

"On the first night, [the smell] is very strong."

"These are fly pollinated, so they're trying to attract blow flies and carrion beetles. Their whole thing is to look and smell like rotting flesh."

"You'd have to imagine them in the Sumatran rainforest. So, the top part of it heats up, and they basically are creating this huge stench like something giant rotting."

Dudley said that because of this, the best time to catch the flower is within the first 24 hours. After that, within five to 10 days, the flower will be gone.

"This is a really short-term huge investment."

Blooming in times of COVID

Last year, the Gage Park greenhouse saw its own corpse flower, Kramer, bloom for the first time in Hamilton.

"The corm was donated to us by Niagara Parks in 2019, so this is our first experience," Marcia Monaghan, the city's horticulture superintendent, told CBC Hamilton in 2021.

Kramer was not able to bloom in front of Hamilton residents like Arthur is expected to be because of COVID restrictions.

Instead, the city shared a time lapse of the bloom.