corpse flower

noun

variants or less commonly corpse plant

: a tropical perennial herb (Amorphophallus titanum) of the arum family that is native to Sumatra and produces a tall, erect, yellowish-white spadix partly enclosed by a showy, white-spotted, green spathe which opens during bloom to reveal a reddish-purple interior and emit an odor of rotting flesh

Part of the reason the corpse flower is drawing such big crowds is because it rarely blooms. It is also one of the biggest, stinkiest plants on the planet …

—Lara Sorokanich

called also titan arum

Examples of corpse flower in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The stench of Mumbai’s Sassoon Docks lingers on your shoes, on your clothes, and in your memory like the blooming of a corpse flower. —Christopher Cameron, Robb Report, 14 Dec. 2024

Information about the garden’s corpse flowers is available at USBG.gov/CorpseFlower. —Martin Weil, Washington Post, 23 July 2024

According to the Garden, this corpse flower’s seeds were first planted in 2018, and its first bloom began opening the night of July 21. —Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 July 2024

One of its rare corpse flowers is about to bloom, in all its putrescence. —Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined above