Very Rare 'Stink Lily' Found Growing in Brunei

The stink lily or ‘Amorphpophallus paeoniifoluis’ on the Murah Namit's lawn. Picture: BT/Khai Zem Mat Sani

Khai Zem Mat Sani
BRUNEI-MUARA
Wednesday, June 1, 2016

A PECULIAR-LOOKING plant growing naturally on the lawn of a 66-year-old woman in Kg Lumapas was identified by Heart of Borneo Centre Chief Executive as the ‘Amorphpophallus paeoniifoluis’ or stink lily.

“If it grows naturally the plant’s recent discovery would be the first recorded case of it ever growing in the sultanate,” said the chief executive of Brunei HoB Centre Mahmud Hj Mohd Yussof.

The plant, according to information on the ASEAN centre of Biodiversity’s website, is one of two of the largest flowers in the world found native to Borneo Island.

The 66-year-old senior citizen who made the discovery, Murah Namit, initially described her find as “A leafless flower stalk growing directly from the ground” which has started growing progressively since Thursday.

“At first, I thought it was just a wild plant but it started to grow differently after few days. The ‘leaf’ seems leathery and varies in colour. There were times I saw flies around the flower,” she said.

She added that residents from the village who flocked to her place to witness the unusual plant growth kept on saying the flower might be a ‘corpse flower’ or ‘Bunga Bangkai’ and it supposedly has rotting smell. But for the past few days I didn’t smell anything rotten coming from the flower,” she said. The plant was described to be measuring approximately 70cm wide and 50cm tall with maroon and purple coloured flowers.

The Brunei Times