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Rare "Corpse Flower" Set To Bloom

Posted by timothy on from the let-a-thousand-corpses-bloom dept.

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..."

16 of 57 comments (clear)

  1. Ummmm..... by DesScorp · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's a dick.

    And now we're posting stories on giant penis flowers on Slashdot?

    --
    Life is hard, and the world is cruel
    1. Re:Ummmm..... by bigsteve@dstc · · Score: 4, Funny
      Yes folks ... all flowers are sex organs.

      So, next time you buy a bunch of flowers for your girlfriend, why not remind her of the plants that have been castrated for her enjoyment? (Just a thought :-)

  2. Another one... by FreshMeat-BWG · · Score: 3, Informative

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

    1. Re:Another one... by Spock+the+Baptist · · Score: 2, Funny

      The Stephen F. plant is named Jack by the way.

      So to those who've not visited the SFASU Arboretum recently...

      YOU DON'T KNOW JACK!

      --
      "Oh drat these computers, they're so naughty and so complex, I could pinch them." --Marvin the Martian
  3. it's not about to bloom, it's done by clsc · · Score: 5, Informative
    A day or so too late, it seems:

    Amorphophallus Titanum 2004 Daily Progress

    1. Re:it's not about to bloom, it's done by CanSpice · · Score: 2, Informative

      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.

  4. And to celebrate... by WormholeFiend · · Score: 5, Funny

    durian smoothies for everyone!

  5. Rarer than Halley's Comet? by CodeMonkey4Hire · · Score: 2, Informative
    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.
    --

    Let's go Hurricanes!!! 2006 Stanley Cup Champions!!!
  6. Re:Smells fishy by sporktoast · · Score: 5, Informative
    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.

    --
    In a related story, the IRS has recently ruled that the cost of Windows upgrades can NOT be deducted as a gambling loss.
  7. Re:Smells fishy by stu42j · · Score: 2, Funny

    You mean this one:

    or:

    or perhaps:

    That last one may be a different flower but what is the deal with slashdot's obsession with large stinky flowers?!?

  8. Not as rare as one might think by dacarr · · Score: 3, Informative
    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.

    --
    This sig no verb.
  9. I can't get there in person... by dpbsmith · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...so can someone post a URL from which I can download the smell? (.wma format preferred)

    --

    "How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!

  10. Smells by 4of12 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Long ago I read somewhere that the smell of a human corpse was considered the most repugnant to the human nose.

    From an evolutionary perspective, in the propagation of disease, I can well imagine why.

    --
    "Provided by the management for your protection."
    1. Re:Smells by WormholeFiend · · Score: 2, Insightful

      so, how do you make this methyl phenyl phosphine? (I'm assuming by chemical reaction, not by letting something rot...)

  11. The ultimate subterfuge... by moonboy · · Score: 4, Funny



    The ultimate subterfuge for the bodies buried in the backyard.

    "Oh, that smell? It's just my Amorphophallus Titanum."

    --

    Co-founder and designer at Music Nearby: http://musicnearby.com
  12. Some personal Pictures from "Opening Day" 7/6/04 by Gadgetfreak · · Score: 2, Informative

    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.

    --
    "No fair, you changed the outcome by measuring it!" - Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth