SA Hits Stinky Jackpot Twice In A Row With Another Corpse Flower Bloom

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Published

January 25, 2016

At the tail end of last year, a horticultural dream was realised: the Mount Lofty Botanical Gardens, nestled in Adelaide’s foothills, bore witness to the elusive bloom of its famously repugnant Corpse Flower. With the gigantic, terrible-smelling plant only opening up once every few years, thousands of South Australians lined up to experience it for themselves.

Much like the flower’s short-lived bloom, that dream withered. A severe fire danger warning forced the Gardens to shut, cutting off visitor access for the event’s final hours.

Stunningly, keen stank-lovers will soon have a second chance to take it all in, ’cause the Adelaide Botanical Gardens is about to have its own Corpse Flower bloom, too.

For as lulz-worthy as this all sounds, it’s actually a significant happening. Horticultural curator Matt Coulter told the ABC it’s “thrilling there’s another opportunity for people to the see this rock star of the plant world in the green heart of our city.”

According to him, it takes a hellavalot of effort to keep ’em alive, let alone healthy enough to bloom. Now, SA’s hit that wretched jackpot twice in a month.

BREAKING: We’ve got big #CorpseFlower news! Is Indah getting a brother? https://t.co/xJAVRndZqw #stinkyBGSA pic.twitter.com/IQdwlu5fOw

— Botanic Gardens SA (@BotGardensSA) January 25, 2016

If you’re keen to have a sniff – and let’s be honest, who isn’t – Coulter and Co. advise they’ll be posting visiting times on their Facebook page once the bloom is nice and ripe.

Until then, peep Mount Lofty’s “Indah” bloom and shrivel in two minutes, with none of the travel and, sadly, none of the smell.