In an informationally odiferous episode of the KQED series “Deep Look“, narrator Lauren Sommer takes a high definition look in the life cycle of the rare Titan Arum plant more commonly known as the “Corpse Flower”. It only blooms once a decade and the stench of it can be overwhelming. Sommer explains that the this flower is actually a mimicking plant that relies on deception to reproduce and survive.
A corpse flower’s whole survival strategy is based on deception. It’s not a flower and it’s not a rotting dead animal, but it mimics both. Pollination remains out of sight, deep within the plant. KQED’s Deep Look staff was able to film inside a corpse flower, revealing the rarely-seen moment when the plant’s male flowers release glistening strings of pollen.
