San Diego Botanic Garden is witnessing the rare blooming of its konjac plant – a smaller, relative of the corpse plant – in its Dickinson Family Education Conservatory Feb. 16 and Feb. 17. The Amorphophallus konjac, also commonly called voodoo lily, devil’s tongue, or elephant yam, also emits a rotting flesh scent as it blooms, to attract the carcass-eating insects that pollinate it. The Garden’s staff first spotted a bloom spike, or inflorescence, emerging from the soil on Feb. 5. It has been at least six years since a konjac has bloomed at the Garden.
