Thanks, Vanessa, for offering option #5. I have never seen a "corpse plant " before and I do believe it is appropriately named.

My son planted two smaller versions of these in our yard in Tampa, FL.. Took two years to figure out what was decaying in our yard. I found that if you cut the center part off/out before it blooms it makes a beautiful plant with lots of gorgeous folliage without it's other outstanding feature.

Those aubergine ruffles are magnificent and I get the pleasure of gazing at it from my computer without the value added pew!!

The shape of the center looks a bit different here in FL and has a very descriptive name - "The Penis Plant.." Once you remove it's masculinity the foliage stalks are like celery and the actual foliage looks a bit like an elephant ear except the leaf is very intricate cut and looks like an old fashioned lace doily. With the cuts like that it withstands a lot of the thunderstorm winds down here. I no longer have mine because it also is very sensitive to the frost. Lost both of them the same year.