Up in the biology department greenhouse, perched atop Singer Hall, lives Swarthmore’s collection of corpse flowers, or Titan arum. These plants are some of the most unique individuals in the plant kingdom. First, they only produce their signature flowers once every 10-14 years. In the years they don’t flower, they instead produce a massive tree-like growth that, at first glance, looks almost like a tree, but is actually just one single leaf the plant produces. They bide their time gathering their energy in the form of sugars with these massive leaves, cycling through them until they have finally accumulated enough energy in their underground stems. Then, the show begins.
Corpse flowers produce the largest inflorescences, or flowering bodies, in the entire plant kingdom. The massive amounts of energy needed to produce this inflorescence means the plants cannot make them often, so it’s a rare sight to see one. However, in our greenhouse right now, an individual we have named Lenny is rapidly sending up an inflorescence that will soon open up. Lenny is generating a lot of buzz here on campus, and for good reason.
The last time one of our corpse flowers bloomed was in 2021, so it’s been a few years since we’ve been graced with a bloom here at Swarthmore. In a few days, Lenny’s flower will open up, and all of campus will get to see (and smell) the beauty of a corpse flower. On the days Lenny is fully bloomed, the greenhouse will be open to the public and members of the Swarthmore community will be able to come and experience the grandeur of a corpse flower.
Now, you may be wondering why these beautiful plants are called corpse flowers. Well, that’s because their flowers emit a powerful smell reminiscent of rotting flesh. It may sound gross, and it most certainly smells it, but this is actually a strategy the plant uses to attract pollinating insects. The insects smell the scent of rotting meat in the air and come in droves expecting to find a pungent meal. Instead, they end up crawling around on the flowers and distributing their pollen, allowing pollination to occur and produce the next generation of corpse flowers.
Witnessing a flower like Lenny here at Swarthmore is certainly a once-in-a-lifetime event, as these flowers require exacting conditions to grow and aren’t just something you can go pick up at the garden center. Being able to experience something like this here on campus is a common occurrence here at Swarthmore. From world class performances, to famous lecturers, there’s constantly some fantastic event going on here on campus. All you need to do is just check a bulletin board for a poster to find one.
