Two titan arums, Odorysseus and Odora, bloomed simultaneously at the Huntington in San Marino, drawing more than 7,000 visitors. Each bloom lasts roughly 24–48 hours and emits a strong odor that attracts carrion beetles and flesh flies for pollination. The Huntington has cultivated titan arums for over 25 years, now housing 43+ mature specimens and sharing seedlings nationwide to support conservation of a species with fewer than 1,000 individuals thought to remain in the wild.
Rare Double Bloom at The Huntington: Two ‘Corpse Flowers’ Draw Over 7,000 Visitors
The corpse flowers, Ordorysseus and Odora, on display at the Huntington in San Marino.Photograph: Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images
Two titan arums—commonly called corpse flowers—produced a rare simultaneous bloom at the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Calif., drawing crowds eager to witness the fleeting display.
The Event
The pair, named Odorysseus and Odora, began unfurling over the weekend and attracted more than 7,000 visitors on Monday alone. Staff alerted the public once the towering plants started to open; each bloom lasts only about 24 to 48 hours and peaked overnight before beginning to subside the next day. Advance tickets sold out by late Monday morning, and the institution expects the flowers to remain viewable through early August.
What Makes the Corpse Flower Special
The titan arum is not a single bloom but a massive flowering structure composed of hundreds of tiny flowers. It can exceed 12 feet (about 3.7 meters) in height. When in bloom, it emits a pungent odor often likened to rotting flesh—a scent that attracts carrion beetles and flesh flies that serve as pollinators. After flowering, the plant collapses and typically enters a long dormancy that can last years, making each bloom an unpredictable and rare spectacle.
"They were enchanted by it," said Brandon Tam, curator of the Huntington's orchid collection. "People who lined up for three hours in our line just to see the corpse flowers for just a few minutes. People were curious, people were inspired. People started to fall in love, if they haven't already been falling in love, with plants because of this poster child of a plant that has led people to better understand that plants have a life of their own."
Conservation and Cultivation
The titan arum is native to western Sumatra, Indonesia, and is considered endangered in the wild. The Huntington has cultivated titan arums for more than 25 years and now maintains over 43 mature specimens, many descended from a plant successfully pollinated in 2002. That pollination produced hundreds of fruits and seeds; seedlings were propagated and shared with botanical gardens across the United States to aid conservation efforts. Fewer than 1,000 titan arums are believed to remain in the wild.
Why This Matters
Beyond the theatrical smell and dramatic size, these blooms offer a window into plant reproduction, conservation work, and public engagement with botany. Events like this help botanical institutions raise awareness and support for species preservation and horticultural research.
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