With a name like “The Corpse Flower” it’s no surprise that Amorphophallus titanium isn’t a big seller for online florists, and that’s before one even considers it’s massive size (they can grow to up to 8m tall) or the bloom’s putrid smell, a trait which evolved to lure insects, responsible for pollination, to the plant.
Flowering only very rarely the Corpse Plant is guarenteed to cause a stink in the botanical world whenever it blooms.
However, amongst botany geeks the Corpse Flower appears to be quite a hit; There aren’t many of them to be found outside the plant’s natural habitat, the rainforests of Indonesia, and they rarely flower in the wild, let alone in cultivation, so maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that whenever one of these bizarre organisms blooms in captivity flora-philes come flocking to see the unusual sight, and “experience” its unique scent.
On this occasion it’s the specimen held at the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) which is due to flower, and such has been the buzz it’s created that not only have the HMNS set up a webcam, & a “Corpse Flower Watch” on their blog, complete with daily updates on the plant’s progress and measurements of its growth, but, with the fragrant flower due to open its petals any time this week, they’re also planning on opening the museum 24hrs a day while it’s in bloom.
The plant, named Lois, has also become a bit of a celebrity on Twitter, so if you’re a would-be botanist, but not based within travelling distance of the HMNS you can still keep up to date with its progress minute to minute.
Tags: Science, Weird stuff