Corpse Flower 'Spike' Nails Second Chance At Blooming

GLENCOE, IL — It didn't work out as planned the first time for Spike, one of the Chicago Botanic Garden's seven corpse flowers. But nearly three years after it had to be forced open by scientists when it got stuck in its pre-bloom, "Spike 2.0" is back in business to become the garden's biggest titan arum specimen ever to bloom, according to the garden.

Measured at 6 feet, 10 inches tall at the time of blooming Wednesday, Spike set a new height record for the garden's corpse flower collection.

In August 2015, Spike was the garden's first titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) to start its bloom cycle. It attracted more than 75,000 visitors at the time, but the "notoriously fickle" flower was unable to open up all the way on its own. Since then, the garden said, Spikes has been repotted and moved to the production greenhouse.

The species is native to the rainforests of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and its pungent odor is the result of years of stored up energy. The effect is a massive burst of rancid odor that the flowers natural pollinators – carrion beetles and flesh flies – just can't get enough of.

If you want to experience the corpse flower's smell yourself – it's been described as similar to rotting flesh – you may only have until Friday. They generally stay in bloom for 24 to 36 hours and the clock started ticking Wednesday evening. The bloom cycle can be unpredictable, and usually it takes three to five years for a plant to get enough energy to recharge.

Spike is on display until 7 p.m. at the Semitropical Greenhouse at the Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Road.

Related:

• Corpse Flower Fails to Bloom On Own; Forced Open by Scientists (2015)
  
• 'Alice' is able to do what 'Spike' couldn't. (2015)
  
• 'Sprout' Blooms 7 Months After 'Alice' (2016)
  
• 'Sunshine' Becames Botanic Garden's 1st Corpse Flower on Outdoor Display (2017)