‘Giant shapeless penis’ plant that smells like rotting flesh blooms in the Netherlands

A giant ‘penis plant’ has bloomed for the first time in the Netherlands. The Amorphophallus gigas – which literally translates as ‘giant shapeless penis’ – became fully erect at Leiden’s botanical garden at the end of February, followed by a second plant days later. These eye-catching species only flower for two days, and are now looking rather limp in the garden’s Tropical Glasshouse. Few botanical gardens have this species, which is native to Indonesia’s Sumatra island, in their collection. “We were very lucky, because we had not one, but two specimens in flower at (almost) the same time,” a…

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