Corpse Flower Spotted In Singapore By Man Who Missed It The Last Time After It Was Allegedly Taken
In 2021, a rare corpse flower was seen in Sembawang and people flocked to the location to see it.
Sadly, it vanished just days later and was suspected to have been removed by someone.
Close to two years later, another corpse flower has been seen at an unnamed location in Singapore.
Photo courtesy of John Lee
This time around, the man who came across it could only say that he found it at a “Central District nature spot”.
Corpse flower seen in Singapore on 26 Feb
A photo of the latest corpse flower sighting was shared in the Singapore Wildlife Sightings Facebook group on Sunday (26 Feb).
It was posted by Mr John Lee, the founder of Wildlife Asia (Singapore).
Source: John Lee on Facebook
Responding to queries from MS News, he said he saw it on Sunday evening at about 6pm.
The wildlife expert tried to take a whiff of the flower, which is famous for its pungent stench, but he almost fainted.
The smell could be detected as far as 2 feet (61cm) away, he added, if the wind direction is right.
Found at nature spot in Central District
Unsurprisingly, Mr Lee was concerned that revealing the exact location of the flower would result in it being taken away again.
That’s because he noticed that nobody was watching over the unique plant.
Photo courtesy of John Lee
Thus, he would only disclose that he saw it at a nature spot in the Central District of Singapore.
2 men allegedly cut & took away corpse flower in 2021
Mr Lee’s date with the flower was a long time coming, he said.
The corpse flower last surfaced in June 2021 in Sembawang. He told MS News that his friend was at the location in the evening and called him to come over.
As he was rushing down, his friend witnessed two adult men standing really close to it. They then allegedly used some sort of instrument to cut off the flower and take it away.
This was just 30 minutes before Mr Lee arrived, so he didn’t get a chance to see the flower, he lamented.
Other members of the public who had come to see the flower were “extremely disappointed and shocked” to find that it was gone, he added.
For the next year and eight months, he’d been waiting patiently to see another corpse flower, and his wish has amazingly come true this time.
He will be going back to visit it again, perhaps this weekend, he said.
Another hiker saw flower on 25 Feb
Apart from Mr Lee, it seems at least one other hiker has come across the corpse flower.
Facebook user Meng Kuang Han also shared photos of it on Singapore Wildlife Sightings on Sunday.
Source: Meng Kuang Han on Facebook
In fact, he indicated that he found it on Saturday (25 Feb), a day earlier than Mr Lee.
Source: Meng Kuang Han on Facebook
Again, when asked for its location by netizens, Mr Meng demurred.
Source: Meng Kuang Han on Facebook
He would say only that it was found within one of the national parks.
Corpse flower blooms once every few years
According to the National Parks Board (NParks), the corpse flower’s scientific name is Amorphophallus titanum.
It’s called the corpse flower due to its powerful smell akin to rotting flesh that lures flesh flies, sweat bees, and carrion beetles for pollination.
Source: Meng Kuang Han on Facebook
It blooms only once every few years for just a few days, which makes catching one in full bloom a rare event indeed.
Hope flower stays undisturbed
After what happened to the last corpse flower seen in Singapore, we don’t blame nature lovers for keeping mum.
However, they thankfully couldn’t resist taking stunning photos for us to admire.
If you come across it on your hikes, do remember to keep its location a beautiful secret.
Hopefully, the corpse flower stays undisturbed this time.
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Featured image courtesy of John Lee and adapted from Meng Kuang Han on Facebook.
