The stinkiest flower in the world was stolen from a German botanical garden

In the Rombergpark Botanical Garden in Dortmund, arum titanium “David”, a foul-smelling plant, was stolen. Unknown people dug up a 20-30 kg tuber from a pot, Liter.kz reports with reference to Spiegel.

Amorphophallus titanum blooms for only a few days every few years, but it forms the largest inflorescences in the entire plant world, emitting a strong smell of carrion. This unpleasant odor helps pollinate Amorphophallus titanica: the plant attracts insects to the inflorescence, which look for decaying corpses to lay eggs. Amorphophallus titanica grows in Sumatra and belongs to the araceae family.

The last time the growth produced a leaf, which withered at the end of September, after which the dormant tuber was again covered with earth. During the inspection, the gardeners discovered that the tuber had disappeared.

“This theft is a blow to us. Many residents of Dortmund were waiting for the next flowering. We hope that the thieves will repent of their decision and return the flower. The material value is difficult to estimate, but the loss for the Botanical Garden and the city of Dortmund is enormous,” the Botanical Garden said.