La pianta è sbocciata a Leida, in Olanda, annunciata dal classico odore di carne marcita: è sbocciata dopo più di 23 anni la rarissima pianta pene
L’ultima volta era il 1997: da allora nessuno in Europa aveva mai visto sbocciare la Amorphophallus decus-silvae, nome scientifico della “pianta pene” per via della forma caratteristica.
Annunciata dal suo classico odore pungente di carne marcita, la pianta pene è sbocciata in un giardino botanico di Leida, in Olanda, amorevolmente curata dalla giardiniera volontaria Rudmer Postma. The first bud was spotted in September, and in two months the plant grew to two and a half meters tall.
Why is the plant so rare?
The last time it bloomed in Europe was 24 years ago, but in its entire history in the Old Continent it has only happened three times: this is because the “penis plant” needs a very warm and humid environment, which is difficult to obtain here. In fact it is native to the tropical forests of Indonesia, and in particular to the island of Java. And then such a large plant (the one in Leiden is two and a half meters tall) needs a lot of energy to bloom, and it takes 10 to 12 years to accumulate it.
The success in the Dutch botanical garden
The Leiden nursery had the plant’s bulb for six years, but no one imagined it would actually bloom. The event was announced by the terrible stench that this plant emits when it is about to bloom: “the smell was not very strong in the morning, but in the afternoon it became unbearable,” said one of the gardeners. A stench, however, that attracts flies and other pollinators, which in the natural habitat of the “penis plant” settle on the flowers and cover themselves with pollen, which they then transport to other specimens. There are no other Amorphophallus decus-silvae in Leiden, so staff are collecting the pollen to donate to other botanical gardens or universities.
We don’t know how long we’ll have to wait before we see a “penis plant” bloom again, but now European experts have a complete specimen and also its pollen, which will facilitate new ventures of this kind.