Rootedintherichsoiloftherain forestinSumatra,arareflowerisabouttobloom.Ithasbeengrowingfornineyears.Theblossomwillonlyopenfor48hours.Itneedstobepollinatedduringthatshort window.

Shapedlikea3‑meter-(10‑foot-)longbaseballbatwearingatutu,theflowerbeginstounfurl.Theinsideofthefloweriswarmanddeepred.Butit’sthesmellthatyounotice.It’sacombinationofdecay,dirtydiapers,androttenpickles.Grosstohumans,maybe.Butit’sabeaconto insects.

Thetitanarumplant,alsoknownasthecorpseflower,isthesmelliestbloomontheplanet.Itsbadodoradvertisesafreemeal.It’sirresistibletoinsectsthatfeedondeadthings.Insectslandontheflowerandpollinateit astheywanderaboutlookingfor food.

Aflashofredcatchesa fly’sattention.Asweetsmellsuggestsfood.Theflylandsonthesticky,redsurface.Thislandingpadisactuallytheinsideofahinged leaf.

Beforetheflyhasachancetoflyoff,theleafsnapsshutlikeamouth.Ittakeslessthanasecondtoclose.Theedgesoftheleafarerimmedwithspikes.Theyactlikeafencetokeeptheflyinplace.Theflystruggles,butit’snouse.Ithasbeencaughtbya Venusflytrap,andit’sonitswaytobeingeatenbythis plant.

Likemanyplants,aVenusflytrapgathersnutrientsfromthesoilandfromtheair.Yet,Venusflytrapsliveinpoorsoilandcan’tgetallofthenutrientstheyneed.So,they’veadaptedanextremewaytofeedthemselves.Theyeatlive prey.

Theplant’sleavesarehingedinthemiddlelikeaclamshell.Theinsideiscoveredwithstiffhairs.Thesearetriggerhairs.Theyactlikemotionsensors.Whenaninsectmovesacrosstheleaf,itbrushesagainsttriggerhairs.Whenonehairisbrushed,nothinghappens.Butwhenasecondhairistriggered,theleafsnapsshutandtrapstheinsect inside.

Onceinside,chemicalsintheplantbreakdownthesoftpartsoftheinsect.Afternutrientsareabsorbed,thehingedleafopens,andtheunwantedremainsfallout.Theleafisreadytocaptureitsnextmeal.Thewholeprocesstakesbetweenfiveand12 days.