Wally, an amorphophallus titanium corpse flower, is expected to bloom over the weekend at Indiana University’s Biology Greenhouse. This will be the fourth time Wally has bloomed.
Wally’s blossom is known to smell like a dead corpse or, to greenhouse manager John Leichter, a men’s locker room. The smell comes from the flies, roaches and beetles which pollinate the flower; they are insects attracted to dead meat smells. Wally’s odor is at its height at night.
“It is a really, just a unique smell. It's just something. It's not like a rose. It's not like a cattleya orchid that is very fragrant,” said Leichter.
He said the greenhouse will be open for visitors to see Wally at times posted on the Biology’s Facebook page. Leichter expects to have 5,000 to 6,000 visitors. In 2023, about 6,000 visited.
Wally is at 76.5 inches tall now and will grow another couple inches after it blooms. The corpse flower is the largest flower in the world.
Its blooming period only lasts 24 to 36 hours. Then it will start to close up, die, rest and become a leaf again.
Wally is named after Hugh Wallace (Wally) Scales, the greenhouse’s first manager. The flower was donated in 2007 and first bloomed in 2016. It originally bloomed every four years but is now starting to bloom about every two years. The last time it bloomed was in June 2023.
The flower is originally from Sumatra, Indonesia, which means it likes the heat and humidity.
“So that's why Wally likes it here, and it's been all that tender, loving care. I guess that he decided to show off again,” said Leichter.
Currently, a live webcam focuses on Wally on the Biology’s Facebook page.
