The Yellow Rose of Texas…Not.

Remember the Amorphophallus Titanum? You would if you’d ever gotten a whiff of one. The plant, whose name literally translates to “Giant Misshapen Penis,” is as infamous as its close cousin, the stinking corpse lily (Rafflesia Arnoldii), for its distinctive floral bouquet reminiscent of decomposing flesh.

A rare specimen of the exotic plant is currently raising quite a stink at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Because the titanum blooms briefly only once every few years, the museum decided yesterday to stay open 24 hours a day until Lois (that’s the flower, named after a former employee’s mother) bursts into odiferous bloom, an occurrence which will last only about 8-10 hours and has kept throngs of museum visitors waiting anxiously for days.

“I’m really excited and anxious to see it and smell it, but it’s nature and we can’t rush that,” says staff horticulturalist Zac Stayton, who brought his sleeping bag with him to work and said he does not plan on going home until the the 5-foot-tall bud opens, which is expected no later than tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon. “This is the price you have to pay for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Where’s Waldo? Just Follow Your Nose!

Remember the Rafflesia Arnoldii, aka Stinking Corpse Lily? It’s got a cousin! The Amorphophallus Titanum (which literally translates to “Giant Misshapen Penis”) is the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world (reaching heights between 5 and 10 feet) and is as infamous as the arnoldii for a distinctive floral bouquet reminiscent of decomposing flesh. Because the plant blooms briefly only once every few years, visitors to the Volunteer Park Conservatory at the University of Washington late last month were delighted–if olfactorily repulsed–at the chance to experience the rare flowering plant firsthand.

Called Waldo by its proud caretakers at the University of Washington, the specimen has bloomed only three times, according to Conservatory gardener Nile Kurashige, making its sudden flowering on the night of July 27 a real Grand Opening. “We opened the conservatory at eight the next morning and TV crews from channels 4 and 5 were there. We tried to get the word out as much as possible, as the first night is the big stink night.”

The Natural Art of Scent Marketing

It’s all about demographics, in the world of scent marketing, and the “Stinking Corpse Lily” (rafflesia arnoldii) of Southeast Asia effectively targets pollinating flies by smelling…well…like a Stinking Corpse!

The reddish-brown flower, which can reach a diameter of 3 feet and a weight of 24 pounds, is pretty much the whole ball game with this peculiar plant. Rafflesia arnoldii has no observable leaves, stems or even roots. Though still technically considered a vascular plant, it behaves more like fungi, living as a parasite on the Tetrastigma vine and obtaining water and nutrients through thread-like strands of tissue which contact surrounding host cells.

The patent is neither pending nor necessary for the aroma of decaying flesh, but there’s a lesson here: What does your target market smell like and like to smell? What scent will draw them (like flies) to your product?