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| Titan arum | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Order: | Alismatales |
| Family: | Araceae |
| Genus: | Amorphophallus |
| Species: | A. titanum |
| Binomial name | |
| Amorphophallus titanum (Becc.) Becc. ex Arcang | |
| Synonyms | |
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The titan arum, Amorphophallus titanum, is a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world.
The titan arum's inflorescence is not as large as that of the talipot palm, Corypha umbraculifera, but the inflorescence of the talipot palm is branched rather than unbranched.
Due to its odor, which is like the smell of a decomposing animal, the titan arum is called a 'carrion flower', or 'corpse flower', or 'corpse plant'. For the same reason, the name 'corpse flower' is also used for the genus Rafflesia which, like the titan arum, grows in the rainforests of Sumatra. The function of the smell is to attract insect pollinators.
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