Rare flower blooms in the Rainforest

The plant getting all the attention is the Anchomanes difformis, which hails from tropical Africa. It’s related to the famous Amorphophallus titanum which brought a flood of visitors to Kew a few years ago. The Living Rainforest’s specimen is kept in a specially dimmed house, designed to mimic the darkened conditions of the plant’s native understorey rainforest, where the plant grows in year-round warmth and humidity.

The fast growing stems have sent out horizontal branches just below the level of The Living Rainforest’s glass roof. The stems are covered in small thorns, which protect the plant from hungry predators. The flower lasts for a short time – just three or four days, and is now nearing the end of its bloom. The rare flower has two main parts – a maroon ’spathe’ (which looks like a petal), surrounding a cream ’spadix’ (which looks like a spike).