你家孩子也很喜歡自然科學和花草植物嗎？體驗觀摩的好機會到了～～ The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens 種植的一棵巨花魔芋（又名屍花）日內就要開花了！

想親身看看這棵獨特無比的植物開花時的「盛況」，記得留意杭亭頓植物園網站的公佈吧！

** 巨花魔芋具有世界上最大的不分支花序；世界上最大的分枝花序，則是貝葉棕的花序；世界上最大的花則為大花草的花。巨花魔芋的印尼文名稱叫做「bunga bangkai」，「bunga」意為「花」，「bangkai」意為「屍體」，巨花魔芋在開花的時候會散發一股類似屍臭的味道，因此又有「屍花」的別名。在印尼，同樣的名稱也用來稱呼大花草，因為大花草開花時也會散發類似的氣味。大花草和巨花魔芋一樣，原生地都為印尼的蘇門答臘熱帶雨林。

We’re officially on bloom watch as the Corpse Flower prepares to flower – and stink

The Amorphophallus titanum or “Corpse Flower," a native to the tropical rain forests of Sumatra and known for the rotten stench it releases when flowering, has officially been put on bloom watch! This “Li’l Stinker,” our 6th Corpse Flower to date, currently under 40 inches tall, is on track to be smaller than most (some can grow over 6 ft. tall).

See it on view now in the Conservatory: Hours and admission

About the Amorphophallus titanum or “Corpse Flower”

Native to the equatorial rain forests of Sumatra, the Amorphophallus titanum, or Titan Arum, can reach more than 6 feet in height when it blooms, opening to a diameter of 3–4 feet. But the plant is perhaps most famous—or infamous—for its exceptionally foul odor, giving it the nickname, Corpse Flower. In its natural environment, the Corpse Flower is pollinated by sweat bees. It attracts those insects by sending off a foul odor like rotting meat that can travel long distances in the Corpse Flower’s native tropical forests, ensuring insects can pick up the scent in time to pollinate the flowers during their short bloom time.

Why all the excitement?

A Corpse Flower in bloom is as rare as it is spectacular. A plant can go many years without flowering, and when it does the bloom lasts only one or two days. Some people travel around the world hoping to see it at the moment it flowers. For botanists and the public, being “in the right place at the right time” to see one of these magnificent plants in bloom can be a once-in-a-lifetime treat.

Previous Blooms

The most recent bloom was on Aug. 23, 2014. It was only the fifth time a Corpse Flower has bloomed at The Huntington. The plant’s towering inflorescence reached a height of 5 ft. 6 inches before it opened and released its foul-smelling odor, a signal to attract pollinating insects. The smell attracted a good number of visitors, too. View time-lapse images of the Corpse Flower’s 2014 bloom on Tumblr. Previous blooms occurred in 2010, 2009, 2002, and the first in 1999.