It's big, it smells awful and it's about to bloom at Hamilton's tropical greenhouse

Whenever a corpse flower blooms, there's usually a lot of fuss, with scores of people turning up to catch a glimpse.

But when the City of Hamilton's own corpse flower — known locally as Kramer — blooms any day now, COVID-19 restrictions mean Kramer will be doing it in private. 

Corpse flowers are rare plants that usually require seven to 10 years of growth before blooming for the first time. Living up to its name, it smells like a dead animal. This is Kramer's first time blooming in Hamilton.

"The corm was donated to us by Niagara Parks in 2019, so this is our first experience," Marcia Monaghan, the city's horticulture superintendent, told CBC Hamilton on Wednesday.

"We're expecting it's going to bloom on either Monday or Tuesday of next week."

Excitement in the air

Monaghan said there is "excitement" in the air, even though they cannot open the Gage Park tropical greenhouse to the public because of COVID restrictions.

Instead, city staff will host a time lapse of the bloom on the city's social media channels and website once it's complete.

The Titan Arum attracts carnivorous insects like the dung beetle or flesh flies.

Here are some photos of Kramer the corpse flower, shared with us by the City of Hamilton:

The deep burgundy colour and meaty scent attract insects that mistake the plant for food. When the insects land on the plant, they pick up pollen and the pollination process begins, ensuring that the species doesn't go extinct.

When it blooms, the flower reaches nearly three metres (10 feet) high with leaves spanning six metres (19 feet) long.

"Two years ago, when we were gifted this corm, it sprouted. Being our first experience, we didn't know if it would turn into a leaf structure or it would turn into a flower," Monaghan said.

"We were all excited because it's so large. It makes this huge shoot coming out of the soil, and we really thought it was going to be a flower then, but it didn't turn out to be. 

"It was a leaf structure and it stayed in that form for about a year and a half. Then the corm went dormant, and right before Christmas it started to sprout," she said.

This time it's for real

Monaghan said they started measuring on Jan. 18, and at that point, it was already 39 centimetres.

"As of today, we are at 157 centimetres," she said.

"We can see the flower structure already … It's the smelliest the first night and it only blooms for 24 to 48 hours. It tends to bloom when the day is coming to a close in the early evening after 4 o'clock."

Fun facts about corpse flower

• At its fastest, it will grow 15 to 18 centimetres a day.
• The scientific name is Amorphophallus titanium — which translates to "misshapen giant penis."
• The massive flower is best known for its foul-smelling inflorescence, which is likened to rotting flesh. The odour arises from the flower to attract carrion-eating insects and flesh flies carrying pollen.
• The scent is strongest at night when these insects are active, especially the first night.
• It takes between seven and 10 years for a corm to produce a flower.
• The corpse flower was first discovered in Sumatra, Indonesia in 1878. Its conservation status is considered "vulnerable" due to the threat of deforestation, as 72 per cent of the original rainforests in Indonesia have been cleared.
• The corpse flower is in the Araceae family, which also contains the peace lily, calla lily, caladium and elephant ear.
• The bulb weighs about 90 kilograms (200 pounds).
• The smell generated makes insects think it's food, but when the insect goes inside the flower, it realizes there is no food but carries on the pollen to help the species along.