BOWLING GREEN — Mother and daughter Melanie and Lorna Cole visited the Bowling Green State University Greenhouse on Monday specifically to see the konjac flower.

They walked into the warm, humid confines of the greenhouse, spotted the konjac (pronounced kaan-jak) — and promptly gave a wide berth to the tall, purple flower.

“It stinks. You can smell it when you walk in the door,” said Lorna Cole, who is a junior from Toledo and is majoring in ecology and conservation biology at BGSU.

“Trash, garbage,” she said, wrinkling her nose, when asked to describe the smell. 

Melanie Cole works at the university’s college of technology, which is near the greenhouse. She said she heard the plant was blooming, knew her daughter would want to see it, and decided to pop in the greenhouse, which is open to the public.

“I expected a different-looking flower — I don’t know why,” said Melanie Cole, marveling at the striking plum bloom.

The konjac, which bloomed Sunday, will only smell for a couple of days, and will die in 10 to 12 days, said Evili Martins, greenhouse manager.

“This is my first time having it bloom and working with it, so I am very excited,” she said.

Ms. Martins was game to pose for a few photos with the plant. Every time the camera came down, though, she stepped away, letting out a whoosh of breath.

The university acquired the peculiar plant a decade ago from a greenhouse in southern Ohio. Since then, BGSU Greenhouse workers have maintained the foul-smelling plant from bulb to full-blown flower each year.

Native to eastern Asia, the plant has an undeniable stench, which has been likened to a dead animal, when it blooms in the later winter or early spring. 

The konjac has a spotted stem pattern and intricate leaves. It also has a relatively fast growth rate — up to an inch per day in some cases. When it blooms, the plant aims to attract flies and other potential pollinators.

Outside of its pungent scent, the konjac serves some practicality in everyday life. Its starchy tubers, or corms, are edible when dried or cooked and can be made into flour, jelly, or supplements that can benefit digestion, heart, and weight loss, according to a BGSU news release.

The plant reproduces by acorns, Ms. Martins said.

The konjac is also known as the “voodoo flower” or “devil’s tongue.” It’s not to be confused with the Titan arum, or “corpse plant,” that smells like a dead body. The konjac is more like a dead animal or garbage scent, Ms. Martins said.

“I do not know the difference because I have not smelled the corpse plant yet. Maybe one day I will,” she said.

Ms. Martins, who speaks with a thick Brazilian accent from her home country, got her bachelor’s degree in agriculture science in Costa Rica, then came to Ohio State University for her master’s degree in horticulture, specializing in flower production.

She was hired almost immediately after graduation to become just the third BGSU Greenhouse director since it opened in the late 1960s.

The 2,500-square-foot greenhouse is a little summer paradise in Bowling Green’s cold winter months. The temperature is a constant 80 degrees and even warmer in the cactus area.

Ms. Martins’ favorite plant is the vanilla.

“Vanilla is an orchid. There we have some beans hanging,” she said, pointing the plant above one of the room’s entrances. “There is a vanilla bean that we will be harvesting soon. It’s going to be flowering very soon, which is pretty cool because we come in the morning and hand-pollinate it.”

The time-consuming, hand-pollination process is the main reason she enjoys the vanilla, along with its pleasing fragrance.

Ms. Martins also enjoys the “delicious” smell emanating from a jasmine flower.

The greenhouse is made up of four rooms, with two for research and two for plant collection. One space contains hydroponic projects, with crawfish darting to the bottom in a tank, and lettuce, basil, and tomato plants sprouting across from it.

Students assist with plant upkeep and propagation, with direct access to experts like Ms. Martins who can answer questions and offer insight. Two students work in the greenhouse.

Anyone is welcome to visit the BGSU Greenhouse near Park and Leroy avenues to see, and smell, the plant for themselves from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The greenhouse will be closed Thursday and Friday for Ms. Martins’ wedding.

Formal tours, for any time of the year, can be scheduled by calling 419-372-2375.

First Published February 11, 2025, 5:53 p.m.