Published April 24, 2026 1:03pm
Updated April 24, 2026 1:06pm
A rare giant plant known for smelling like a dead body is set to bloom in London within days.
The titan arum, nicknamed the ‘corpse flower’, is preparing to open at Kew Gardens’ Princess of Wales Conservatory.
Experts say the enormous plant, which can grow to more than 3m tall, could flower at any moment, but the spectacular bloom will only last for two to three days.
Solene Dequiret, Princess of Wales conservatory manager, said: ‘It’s really hard to tell exactly when a titan arum will flower and they always keep us guessing until the very last minute, but we are confident it is a matter of days before this specimen opens.
‘We have been looking after the plant for a few weeks now and it is now growing at an incredible pace of about 8cm a day.
‘The bud now measures more than 2m 20cm in height, so we’re all getting ready for the smelly spectacle to start. You can feel the excitement in the air!’
The plant was moved into a climate-controlled tropical zone earlier this month, where it has been closely monitored as it rapidly increased in size.
Native to the rainforests of Sumatra, the titan arum is one of the largest flowering structures in the world — but is best known for the foul odour it produces.
The stench, often compared to rotting meat, is used to attract pollinators such as carrion flies.
When it blooms, the central spike — known as the spadix — also generates heat, helping to spread the smell further.
What does titan arum smell like?
The plant’s distinctive smell has been compared to:
Rotting flesh/meat
Hot rubbish
Dead mice
Sweaty socks
Fish
Tom Pickering, head of glasshouses collections, said: ‘Simply put, there is no avoiding the titan arum once it has opened! The moment you set foot into the glasshouse, its unmistakable stench hits you right in the face and overwhelms your senses.
‘And yet, despite this formidable feature, it is easily one of our most popular visitor attractions.’
Kew currently has around 40 titan arum plants of varying ages growing behind the scenes, many of which were originally donated as seeds.
Because the plants rarely flower at the same time, horticulturists sometimes collect and freeze pollen to use when another specimen blooms.
The species is listed as endangered in the wild due to deforestation and habitat loss.
Botanic gardens like Kew play a key role in conserving the plant through cultivation, as its seeds cannot be stored in seed banks.
Tom Pickering said: ‘The Titan Arum is a fine example of how botanic gardens play an important role in conserving endangered plant species ex-situ in living collections.
‘By cultivating, propagating and distributing plants within a community of botanic gardens we can help to conserve threatened species so that they survive despite uncertain futures.’
The first titan arum to flower at Kew, and outside its native Sumatra, did so in 1889.
A later bloom in 1926 proved so popular that police were called in to control the crowds.
MORE: Security guard injured in Soho ‘attack’ still in lots of pain
MORE: London Marathon 2027 ballot opens today – how to take part in next year’s race
MORE: Why has a prized garden in central London been closed for 200 days?
News Updates
Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.
