Rare "Corpse Flower" Set To Bloom

BearJ writes "And you thought Halley's comet was rare. For the first time in the northeast since the 1930s, a Corpse Flower, or 'Amorphophallus Titanum' is set to bloom at the University of Connecticut. Check out the press release and the official page . Oh, and it's called the corpse flower due to its putrid smell, apparently to attract dung beetles. I wonder if I could find some for my garden..."

Comments

Another one...

[FreshMeat-BWG]

At Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX is also preparing to bloom. SFASU Arboretum

it's not about to bloom, it's done

[clsc]

A day or so too late, it seems:

Amorphophallus Titanum 2004 Daily Progress

Re:it's not about to bloom, it's done

[CanSpice]

Uh, what? Did you happen to read what that page says? It says that it opened half-way, then closed up a bit, and they don't know what it'll do next. They know it hasn't fully bloomed yet.

Rarer than Halley's Comet?

[CodeMonkey4Hire]

Our largest Amorphophallus titanum is finally producing its first flower bud after 10 years since planting from seed.

That means this thing was planted way back in... 1994. Very long time ago.

The last time Halley's comet came by was 1986. It isn't due again until 2061. Oh, and there's only one Halle's comet. Bad analogy.

Re:Smells fishy

[sporktoast]

Fishy is an awfully kind way to describe the smell of the blossom.

You are probably thinking of the one that bloomed in Germany in May, 2003. Slash also reported on one back in 2001 in Wisconsin.

I wouldn't call three specimens in four years blooming "all the time". There have been only about 15 recorded blooms in the United States. That's not blooms in a year, that is blooms at all. This is not a garden variety daylily we're talking about.

Not as rare as one might think

[dacarr]

The Fullerton Arboretum over at CSU Fullerton has one that has been recorded as blooming twice in four years - in 2000 and 2003. For those curious, heeeeeeere's Tiffy!

There was also a bloom in 1999 at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA - which they pollinated from in Fullerton in 2003.

So that's three in five years here in sunny southern California. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Some personal Pictures from "Opening Day" 7/6/04

[Gadgetfreak]

Since this is the Science page, I think the server can handle it... I hope.

Corpse Flower Pictures

Nothing makes you more proud of your Alma Mater than a gigantic stinky flower.

I'm a MechE, though, so the Biology thing is still interesting as a novely.