World’s largest flower blooms

The 6.5 feet Titan arum rarely flowers and is extremely hard to proliferate.

A Titan Arum, believed to be the world’s largest flower, has bloomed in Tokyo for the first time in five years, reported the Australian Associated Press Friday.

The giant flower is from the world’s oldest and largest species of plant. Titan has been put in the genus Rafflesia, which is much like Titan Arum, and grows in the rain-forests of Sumatra.

Titan arum is endemic to Western Sumatra and grows wild in the rain-forests on limestone hills. The plant is otherwise cultivated in botanical gardens and by some private collectors the world over. This cluster of flowers resembles a large petal. This changes to a dark burgundy red coloration on the inside; this has a deeply furrowed texture.

As per sources, the spadix of the flower is hollow and looks very similar to that of a loaf of bread. At the bottom of the spadix are two rings of flowers.

The gargantuan flower, which stands at over 6-and-a-half feet tall, has forced the city’s Botanical Garden to extend it opening hours since the blooming is such a truly rare occurrence.

The last time the species bloomed in a public garden was in July, 2010.

More commonly known as the corpse flower, the plant’s overpowering smell has been likened to that of rotting meat and helps to attract pollinators such as beetles and flies. The reason for the long lines of people is because the bloom only lasts for two days or so.