New corpse flower in bloom at Meise Botanic Garden, opening hours temporarily extended

A new titan calla lily – a huge flower with a scent like a rotting corpse – is now in bloom at Meise Botanical Garden.

The garden has extended its opening hours on Sunday and Monday for visitors to admire the extraordinary plant, which flowers for less than 72 hours. Tours are running until 20.30 (last admission at 19.30), with entrance tickets only available at the ticket office.

It is the 21st time the garden has successfully produced the famously stinky titan calla lily. The specimen, which started blooming early on 27 April, measures 158 cm in height.

The spectacular bloom is on display  in the Plant Palace, a brand-new space in the Rainforest greenhouse specially designed to meet the unique needs of this rare plant.

A rare plant native to Sumatra

The titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) is a rare plant native to the Sumatran rainforest that requires constant heat and high humidity to grow, says the botanical garden.

Nicknamed the corpse plant, it emits a nauseating odour to attract pollinators, which it temporarily traps to ensure reproduction.

As it is threatened by deforestation, the titan arum now benefits from conservation programmes in botanical gardens such as Meise.

The Tropical Forest greenhouse of the Palais des Plantes was specially designed to maintain a climate suited to the plants’ needs. They are grown in a lower position so that visitors can admire the fascinating flowers from above.

Preserving the species

Meise has been growing the titan calla lilies since 2008, with the 2024 ‘champion’ bloom reaching a record height of 321 cm.

A pollination experiment conducted with this ‘champion’ resulted in collecting germinated and producing young plants. Although they are still small at the moment, these plants will soon be exchanged with other botanical gardens around the world to ensure the long-term sustainability of the species.

Record year for visitors in 2024

In 2024, Meise Botanic Garden welcomed a record figure of 256,540 visitors, its annual report revealed. In 10 years, attendance has almost doubled.

One of the highlights of the past year was the opening of the ‘Green Arch,’ a modern greenhouse complex for preserving plants and conducting research.

As well as the champion titan arum last year, researchers at the garden named 65 new species of plants and fungi previously unknown to science, according to the report. These included 24 diatoms, two liverworts, 16 mushrooms, three lichens and 20 flowering plants.

Photo: ©Meise Botanical Garden