Titan arum

• Description

• Odours

• Pollination

• History

• Flowerings - 2005

• Titan arum at Kew

• Timelapse sequence

The first titan arum of 2005, in flower Thursday 21 April

31 August 2005

1 September 2005

6 September 2005

12 September 2005

13 September 2005

A unique site in the Princess of Wales Conservatory, with the fruits from the first flowering of 2005 in the foreground and this latest flower in the background.

14 September 2005

The spadix continues to emerge

16 September 2005

The flower has been moved to give everyone a better view

19 September 2005

21 September 2005

23 September 2005

Although there are some signs of an imminent flowering, it looks like it will not be in flower until at least the weekend.

24 September 2005

Early Saturday morning, and this titan arum seems to be taking its time!

25 September 2005

Little signs of any progress, following a couple of cooler nights.

26 September 2005

Another day, and again barely any change.

27 September 2005

After several days with little if any progress, there's a nagging doubt that this flower may never fully open, as happened with the third flowering in 2002.

But we still remain optimistic, so check back here for regular updates.

27 September 2005 - 6pm update

During the day the flower has suddenly started to unfurl, and looks like it will be opening overnight. We will aim to have confirmation of this and up-to-date pictures posted here by 10am.

6pm update continued....

From above, the opening of the spathe can be clearly seen, and confirmation of the imminent flowering is provided by the strong, distinctive smell, which is attracting large numbers of flies.

28 September

It appears that the flower has still not fully opened overnight, but it is certainly a spectacular sight to see the leaf, flower and fruit stages all together.

29 September

We suspect this flower will not now open fully, but by staying half open for it is giving visitors a much longer chance to catch it in flower than on previous occassions.