Corpse flower smells like dead body

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This is a video by National Geographic channel about a flower called the Titan Arum flower. It is popularly known as a Corpse Flower because of its smell of death. It smells like something big died.

You can find some really disgusting things in nature at times. The interesting thing to me is the need for a flower to smell like rotting meat to be able to survive. If herbivores notice that smell, they're gone. Unless that herbivore does not have a sense of smell.

This flower's full scientific name is Amorphophallus titanum. It was discovered in Sumatra towards the end of the 19th century. In that particular area, they called it by a name that literally translates in English as corpse flower. From the reactions I'm seeing people have, it's befitting to call it that.

As much as it tries to be as stinky as possible, the flower uses its energy in producing heat in order to make the rotten scent travel in the air. That means it succeeds in attracting flies and beetles which believe that they have found food or a spot to lay their eggs. What happens though is the flies end up spending one day inside before being released. Someone in the documentary mentions maggots and very dirty feet. Those are some images I really do not wish to see.

We are so curious it's funny because after hearing that the flower smells like death, people come running to smell the scent. In the video, people come out of the car, take deep breathes of the air and you can see the expressions. From the people that a familiar they said the smell is strongest from midnight through 4 a.m.

When visitors visit the flower during daytime, the smell is not as pungent because of the air in the greenhouse. Although this is an unpleasant flower, I appreciate it very much and wish to ime day see it in real life.