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Recently, the bright red fruits of two Titan Arums (Amorphophallus titanum) have ripened in China National Botanical Garden in China's capital Beijing. Records showed this is the first time that the plants produced fruits under cultivation in a botanical garden across China. The single fruit is about 2.5 centimeters in length according to the staff at the garden.
Titan Arum is also called "corpse flower" because of its stinky corpse-like smell to attract pollinators when it's in full bloom. The species is endemic to the rainforests on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, but it is introduced to botanical gardens worldwide.
When the plant is flowering, the inner flower spike, known as spadix, can reach more than 3 meters (9.8 feet) in height. However, the flower only blooms for no more than two days. After pollination, the upper spadix collapses, and bright red fruits are produced at the lower part of the spadix.
Importantly, unlike other plants, Titan Arum flowers occasionally and its florescence is unpredictable, which makes it even more difficult to harvest its fruits. The species is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
(All images via CFP)
(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at nature@cgtn.com.)
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Copyright © 2023 CGTN. 京ICP备16065310号
Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466