1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:09,840 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:14,160 Speaker 1: a show that discovers something new about history every day 4 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:17,919 Speaker 1: of the week. I'm Gay Bluesier, and in this episode, 5 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 1: we're talking about a natural event so rare and distinctive 6 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:25,800 Speaker 1: that it can both attract and repulse a crowd at 7 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: the same time. The day was June eighth, ninety seven. 8 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,159 Speaker 1: North America's first recorded corpse flower bloom took place at 9 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:47,160 Speaker 1: the New York Botanical Garden. The plants central stock, called 10 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:51,120 Speaker 1: a spadix, measured eight feet high and was the tallest 11 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 1: ever grown in cultivation at the time. The corpse flower, 12 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:58,960 Speaker 1: also known as the titan aram, is native to the 13 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: island of Sumach in Indonesia. It's known for two defining features. 14 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 1: The first is its enormous size. The plant's fleshy central 15 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: spike or spade x, can grow as tall as twelve 16 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:15,839 Speaker 1: feet in the wild. That would make the tighten aram 17 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: the world's largest flower, except it isn't technically a single flower. 18 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 1: The plant spade x bears clusters of small flowers and 19 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: rings all around its base. That means the tighten aram 20 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:33,320 Speaker 1: is what's known as an unbranched inflorescence, which is basically 21 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: a floral structure made up of lots of smaller individual flowers, 22 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: and for what it's worth, the tighten aram is the 23 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 1: largest one of those. The plants spadix is wrapped in 24 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: a big frilly leaf called a spathe, and when it's 25 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:52,960 Speaker 1: time to bloom, the spathe unfurls, revealing the flowers around 26 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 1: its base. If you've ever seen a cala lily, the 27 00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: titan structure looks a good bit like that. But aeaking 28 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: of blooming, That's where the plant's other defining feature comes in, 29 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:09,240 Speaker 1: the one which earned its Indonesian name Bunga banghai, or 30 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:13,720 Speaker 1: corpse flower. When the plant finally blooms, it releases a 31 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:17,760 Speaker 1: powerful odor similar to that of rotting flesh. That's not 32 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: all either. The tighten aram actually puffs out the scent 33 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 1: like a chimney in order to spread the smell as 34 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:28,680 Speaker 1: far as possible. The energy produced during blooming heats the 35 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,400 Speaker 1: spadics to temperatures as high as ninety eight degrees fahrenheit. 36 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: All that heat causes the air to rise, sending the 37 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: stench out to nearby insect pollinators who typically feed on 38 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:44,200 Speaker 1: dead animals. When the curious beetles arrive, they see the 39 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 1: dark red interior of the plant's open spathe and assume 40 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:51,560 Speaker 1: it's the meat they've been smelling. By the way, if 41 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:55,800 Speaker 1: you're curious about that smell. Scientists have actually identified the 42 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 1: different molecules that produce the plant's odor. Some of the 43 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 1: heaviest hitters are dimethyl trisulfide, trimethylamine, an iso valeric acid 44 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:11,520 Speaker 1: that's limburger cheese, rotten fish, and sweaty gym socks, respectively. 45 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 1: This striking plant remained unknown to Western horticulturists until eighteen 46 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: seventy eight. That's the year Italian botanists Odoaro Bakari first 47 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:29,079 Speaker 1: encountered the giant plant while exploring the Sumatran rainforest. The 48 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:32,239 Speaker 1: specimen he found was ten feet high and had a 49 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 1: circumference of about five ft. Bacari tried to send samples 50 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:38,839 Speaker 1: of the plant back to Europe, but most of those 51 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 1: were seized and destroyed by French customs. However, one seedling 52 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: managed to make it through, eventually ending up at the 53 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:51,160 Speaker 1: ce Botanic Gardens in England. It flowered there for the 54 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: first time in eighteen eighty nine and descriptions of the strange, 55 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: smelly plant captured the country's imagination for years to come, 56 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,320 Speaker 1: so much so that when that same corpse flower bloomed 57 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,960 Speaker 1: for a second time in nineteen six police had to 58 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,640 Speaker 1: be called in to keep the teeming crowd at bay. 59 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:14,200 Speaker 1: If you're paying attention, you probably noted the thirty seven 60 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 1: year gap between the corpse flower blooms in England. That's 61 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 1: no mistake. It can take years and sometimes decades for 62 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: one of the plants to store enough energy to bloom. 63 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:29,800 Speaker 1: For instance, horticulturists at the New York Botanical Garden received 64 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:33,719 Speaker 1: their sixty pound seedling from Sumatra in June of nineteen 65 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:37,680 Speaker 1: thirty two, a full five years before its eventual bloom. 66 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 1: The plant was kept in a tropical greenhouse during that time, 67 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:45,360 Speaker 1: with a high temperature and a humid atmosphere, perfect first 68 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:49,719 Speaker 1: stimulating growth. Even under ideal conditions, though, it still took 69 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,840 Speaker 1: five years for the plant to form flower buds. But 70 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:56,600 Speaker 1: when that did finally happen, the flowers matured quickly, and 71 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:00,680 Speaker 1: horticulturists knew the long awaited bloom would soon be at hand. 72 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: The momentous event was described later that year and the 73 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 1: Botanical Gardens Journal. According to the report, the actual opening 74 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,599 Speaker 1: of the flower had begun in the afternoon of June seventh, 75 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 1: but was halted in the evening due to a drop 76 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:19,280 Speaker 1: in temperature. The next morning, is the temperature gradually rose, 77 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:23,320 Speaker 1: the corpse flower finally began to bloom in earnest. The 78 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 1: author recounted the hour's long affair and the smell it produced, 79 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:31,479 Speaker 1: saying quote, by one pm, it had reached ninety degrees 80 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 1: inside the greenhouse and the spathe again began to expand. 81 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:39,200 Speaker 1: At four PM, the temperature reached a high of ninety 82 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: six degrees, and development of the opening inflorescence continued rapidly 83 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:48,360 Speaker 1: until seven forty pm, when it reached its maximum. While 84 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:52,279 Speaker 1: at the height of its development, a distinctly unpleasant odor 85 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:55,360 Speaker 1: was emitted by the plant, but this in no way 86 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:59,280 Speaker 1: compared with the disgusting stench of the plant which flowered 87 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,720 Speaker 1: at q in nineteen twenty six. Smelly or not, It 88 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:07,480 Speaker 1: was the first Titan aram to ever flower in North America, 89 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: and the Gardens Conservatory was quickly flooded with visitors hoping 90 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:15,040 Speaker 1: to see and smell it for themselves. Not everyone in 91 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:17,480 Speaker 1: the city got a chance to see the bloom in time, 92 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:20,840 Speaker 1: but surprisingly they didn't have to wait long for a 93 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:24,720 Speaker 1: second shot. A second specimen bloomed at the New York 94 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 1: Botanical Garden just two years later. By then, the public 95 00:06:28,839 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: had become so enamored with the corpse flower that the 96 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 1: Bronx Borough President actually declared it the official flower of 97 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:38,920 Speaker 1: the Bronx. The plan held onto that title all the 98 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,520 Speaker 1: way up to the early two thousands, when it was 99 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:44,599 Speaker 1: supplanted by the day lily as part of an effort 100 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: to improve the borough's image. Despite the Bronx turning its 101 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,560 Speaker 1: back on the corpse flower, the New York Botanical Garden 102 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 1: continues to host the plants much celebrated blooms, including most 103 00:06:55,839 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: recently in One Before we Go. I to give a 104 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:03,840 Speaker 1: shout out to beloved English naturalist and World treasure Sir 105 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: David Attenborough. He's credited with coming up with the common 106 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: name for the corpse flower, the titan Ram. Attenborough reportedly 107 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:16,240 Speaker 1: coined the name while narrating a BBC Nature documentary series 108 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,880 Speaker 1: called The Private Life of Plants. He did so to 109 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 1: avoid the embarrassment of using the plant's scientific name, a 110 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:27,360 Speaker 1: morpho fallus tight tantum, which is derived from the ancient 111 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:32,320 Speaker 1: Greek words for giant misshapen penis. Of course, at the 112 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 1: end of the day, it doesn't matter what name you 113 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,760 Speaker 1: call it. The corpse flower would smell just as bad 114 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:46,840 Speaker 1: by any other. I'm Gay Blusier and hopefully you now 115 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,400 Speaker 1: know a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 116 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:53,840 Speaker 1: You can learn even more about history by following us 117 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d i HC Show. 118 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:01,240 Speaker 1: You can also to rate and review the show on 119 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:04,560 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or you can write to me directly at 120 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:08,400 Speaker 1: this day at I heart media dot com. Special thanks 121 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:12,119 Speaker 1: to guest producers Joey pat and Casey Pegram, and thanks 122 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:14,760 Speaker 1: to you for listening. I'll see you back here again 123 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: tomorrow for another day in History class.