‘Corpse flower’ blooms at Orange Coast College

People gather to see a rare Inflorescense “Corpse Flower,” Amorphophallus titanium, which opened last night and is giving an pungent odor, at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa on Friday, Aug. 16, 2019. The flower will close in 24 to 48 hours. The compound leaf form, at left, is what the plant looks like most of the time. This plant came from the Huntington Botanical Gardens in2006 as a small plant corm, or root ball. It first flowered in 2014 and this is the second time it flowers. It is about four feet tall and the small one next to it is an offset of the same plant which separated from the corm in 2015. The small one will bloom in about one week.

People gather Friday at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa to see a “corpse flower,” Amorphophallus titanum, which bloomed Thursday night, producing its customary pungent odor. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

Aug. 16, 2019 1:37 PM PT

Corpse flower blooms at Orange Coast College

Student activities assistant Eva Shaffer gets a close look at the smelly Amorphophallus titanum, or “corpse flower,” that bloomed Thursday night at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. The plant is named Little Eva after her. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

Chemistry lab coordinator Cecilia Schryer gets a temperature reading of the “corpse flower” at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa on Friday. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

Juniper Zahringer, 5, of Costa Mesa takes a whiff Friday of the Amorphophallus titanum, or “corpse flower,” that bloomed at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, giving off its pungent odor. It is about 4 feet tall, and the small one next to it is expected to bloom in about a week. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

Angie Morrison of Fountain Valley lifts her daughter Emilie, 4, to get a closer look and smell of Orange Coast College’s “corpse flower” on Friday in Costa Mesa. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

Kate Adams of Costa Mesa gets a good look Friday at the Amorphophallus titanum, or “corpse flower,” that bloomed Thursday night at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

Chemistry lab coordinator Cecilia Schryer uses an infrared device to see the temperature differences within the “corpse flower” that bloomed Thursday night at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, producing its customary pungent odor. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

People gather Friday to see Orange Coast College’s blooming “corpse flower.” (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

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