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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..."

8 of 57 comments (clear)

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

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

  2. 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

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

    durian smoothies for everyone!

  4. 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.
  5. 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 :-)

  6. 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.
  7. 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!

  8. 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