titan arum

noun

Definition of titan arum

: the corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanium) The titan arum produces the stink as it tries to attract insects to pollinate the male and female flowers it holds deep inside a pod. But the rarity of the plant—and its bloom—makes the stench worth it to horticulturists, few of whom can claim the achievement of growing one.— Jeremiah Dobruck

Examples of titan arum in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

His seed came from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s titan arum plant, but the plants grow naturally only in the limestone hills of Sumatra. oregonlive.com, "Rare, stinky corpse flower is about to bloom in Vancouver; here’s how you can see it," 10 July 2019 The titan arum plant, otherwise known as the corpse flower, finally bloomed at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Cliff Pinckard, cleveland.com, "Cleveland firefighters demand chief’s ouster over campaigning for mayor: The Wake Up for Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019," 8 Aug. 2019 Sylvester believes his titan arum plant is the only one to bloom between Seattle and San Francisco. oregonlive.com, "Rare, stinky corpse flower is about to bloom in Vancouver; here’s how you can see it," 10 July 2019 The Domes got its first titan arum from a tuber off a corpse flower plant at the University of Wisconsin a couple decades ago, said Braunreiter. Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Stinky corpse flower draws crowds to Domes for glimpse and whiff," 13 June 2018 The titan arums are native to Indonesia; therefore the intense heat of the past weekend did not hinder its growth. Daniel I. Dorfman, chicagotribune.com, "Corpse flower makes repeat performance — this time outdoors — at Chicago Botanic Garden," 3 July 2018 After failing to bloom in 2015, causing disappointment to the Chicago Botanic Garden staff and patrons, the titan arum plant native to Indonesia nicknamed Spike crossed the bloom threshold late Wednesday, Garden officials said. Daniel I. Dorfman, chicagotribune.com, "After 2015 failure, corpse flower blooms – and stinks – at Chicago Botanic Garden," 26 Apr. 2018 According to Meijer Gardens, The corpse flower — also called titan arum — is one of the largest and rarest flowering plants in the world. Detroit Free Press, "Rare corpse flower blooms in Grand Rapids," 12 July 2018 In 2015, Alice the Amorphophallus titanum, or titan arum, was the first of the garden’s collection of corpse flowers to fully bloom. Daniel I. Dorfman, chicagotribune.com, "Corpse flower makes repeat performance — this time outdoors — at Chicago Botanic Garden," 3 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'titan arum.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of titan arum

1889, in the meaning defined above

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