The Corpse Flower - Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra

Amorphophallus titanum - the Corpse Flower - at the Australian National Botanic Gardens. After 15 years of growing in the garden's tropical glasshouse in Canberra, the flower reached maturity, blooming for a limited audience this morning. Native to Indonesia, the flower will be in bloom for just 24 hours, and it's hard to say when the event will occur again. Likely years. Ticket holders in groups of 15 could view, photograph (and smell) the flower, taking turns to pose with the imposing species which is cultivated in the gardens as part of a global initiative to save it from extinction. To me, there is a definite Marian or Venusian quality to its structure and affect. A rare and poignant event, I wove my camera between viewers eager to witness the rare event in limited time slots. Amazing.