The Corpse Flower Is Endangered, And Incomplete Historical Records Further Put It At Risk
The corpse flower is endangered for a multitude of reasons, including climate change, habitat destruction, and invasive species. But now, a new threat has been added to the list: incomplete historical records.
In a new study, plant biologists from Northwestern University and the Chicago Botanic Garden constructed the ancestry of corpse flowers (Amorphophallus titanium) living in collections from around the world.
They found a severe lack of consistent data, which made conservationists unable to be properly informed about breeding.
Of the corpse flowers in the study, 24 percent were clones, and 27 percent were offspring from two closely related specimens.
“There are many risks associated with low genetic diversity,” said Olivia Murrell, the lead author of the study.
“Decreasing genetic diversity over time leads to a decrease in fitness. Generally speaking, inbred plants might not produce as much pollen or might die right after they flower.”
“One institution reported that possibly as a result of inbreeding, all their corpse flower offspring were albino, so they didn’t survive because they didn’t have chlorophyll to photosynthesize.”
The overall population lacks the genetic diversity it needs to survive. If a disease or pest affects the plants, the population as a whole is more likely to suffer.
The corpse flower was named for its smell, which is a strong odor that resembles rotting flesh when it blooms. The stench attracts flies and carrion beetles, the plant’s primary pollinators.
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The bloom is rare and only lasts 24 to 48 hours, so gardens will host events for visitors to experience the stench.
“Usually, you have to get close to a flower to be able to smell it,” said Murrell. “That is not true for the corpse flower. The second you walk into its greenhouse, its smell smacks you across the face. It’s very strong. The plant also heats up when it blooms, which spreads its smell further.”
Male and female corpse flowers also bloom at different times, making it a challenge for their caretakers to keep their lineages alive.
The female flowers open first, while the male ones open later, so the females are no longer viable by the time pollen is produced.
In addition, the plant blooms unpredictably. It could go seven to 10 years without blooming. When the blooms finally do open, the female flowers are only viable for a few hours.
This time constraint causes conservationists to pollinate as quickly as possible with whatever they happen to have. The pollen might be from a previous flower on the same specimen, resulting in inbreeding.
After analyzing data from 1,200 individual corpse flowers at 111 institutions across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, it was clear that the institutions failed to record the sources and origins of plants or information about the pollen used for breeding. Records were also easily lost over time as plants were transferred to new locations.
The corpse flower is native to Sumatra, and its numbers continue to decline. An estimated 162 individual plants are still left in the wild. If the population does not receive more genetic variation, it could inbreed itself into extinction.
The study was published in the Annals of Botany.
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