A rare plant Amorphophallus decus-silvae or the penis plant has bloomed for the first time in 25 years. The plant is housed in Hortus Botannicus botannical gardens in the Dutch city of Leiden. The last time the same species but a different flower bloomed was in 1997 according to the garden’s website.
Amorphophallus decus-silvae. It’s related to the famous Amorphophallus titanum and, like its cousin, is found in Southeast Asian rainforests. Both species emit a foul odour when they bloom (attracting flies and other pollinators). Image: Hortus Botanicus, Leiden.
Volunteer Rudmer Postma planted and cultivated the plant in 2015, and it is now about six years old. The species is native to west Java in Indonesia and usually blooms in 10 year intervals. It has now grown into a two-meter-long stem with an inflorescence of about half a meter. The blooming is two phased. First as female when the spadix (the white, phallus-shaped part of the inflorescence) exudes a strong pungent smell of rotting flesh, which attracts flies and other pollinators. Once the pollinators land on it, it becomes male, producing pollen that covers the flies. When they leave and hopefully visit another penis plant, they can potentially pollinate it.
Amorphophallus titanum, or giant penis plant. Wikimedia
Amorphophallus decus-silvae is closely related to the well-known Amorphophallus titanum (giant penis plant) and the Amorphophallus gigas. These are the three giant species of the genus Amorphophallus and occur naturally in tropical rainforests in Indonesia, with Amorphophallus decus-silvae being the only one that exists on the island of Java. It is difficult to get it to flower because it needs a very warm and fairly humid environment.
The images are from the Instagram of Hortus Botannicus.
Saima Baig
I am a Chartered Environmentalist from the Royal Society for the Environment, UK and co-owner of DoLocal Digital Marketing Agency Ltd, with a Master of Environmental Management from Yale University, an MBA in Finance, and a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Mathematics. I am passionate about science, history and environment and love to create content on these topics.
