The Corpse flower is about to bloom!

07/18/2013 11:17:31 PM · #1

You can watch it here!

The titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum), also known as the corpse flower or stinky plant, is about to bloom at the United States Botanic Garden Conservatory! Once fully open, it may remain in bloom for 24 to 48 hours, and then it will collapse quickly.

The magic of the titan arum comes from its great size - it is reputed to have the largest known unbranched inflorescence in the plant kingdom. Referred to as the corpse flower or stinky plant, its putrid smell is most potent during peak bloom at night into the early morning. The odor is often compared to the stench of rotting flesh. The inflorescence also generates heat, which allows the stench to travel further. This combination of heat and smell efficiently attracts pollinators, such as dung and carrion beetles, from across long distances.

The titan arum does not have an annual blooming cycle. The time between flowering is unpredictable, which can span from a few years to a few decades. The plant requires very special conditions, including warm day and night temperatures and high humidity, making Botanic Gardens well suited to support this strange plant outside of its natural range.

This plant is native to the tropical rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia, and was first discovered in 1878. Public viewing of this unique plant has occurred a limited number of times in the United States. The U.S. Botanic Garden last displayed a blooming titan arum in 2007.
- See more at: //www.usbg.gov/return-titan#sthash.7A5tuhwH.dpuf

Cuttooth

Canon EOS R

07/18/2013 11:23:47 PM · #2

Oh, i have one in the foster botanical garden near my place. I wonder if it's going to bloom soon.

07/18/2013 11:25:33 PM · #3

Originally posted by Cuttooth:

Oh, i have one in the foster botanical garden near my place. I wonder if it's going to bloom soon.

I remember hearing about this one blooming 6 years ago. It really is tempting to go see it -- but the lines will be incredible, and the temp is punishing right now. It's about 3 hrs away.

Melethia

Canon EOS-80D

07/18/2013 11:27:43 PM · #4

It's not quite as cute as baby eagles... Though probably smells about the same after a few dead fish carcasses are added to the nest!

Cuttooth

Canon EOS R

07/18/2013 11:37:02 PM · #5

Does it take that long between bloomings? If the one here is going to bloom soon, it would be worth seeing (and smelling i guess.) The gardens are about 1/2 mile from where I live.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

07/18/2013 11:47:53 PM · #6

Originally posted by Cuttooth:

Does it take that long between bloomings? If the one here is going to bloom soon, it would be worth seeing (and smelling i guess.) The gardens are about 1/2 mile from where I live.

Yup -- this one bloomed in 2003, 2005, 2007, and then not until 2013

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

07/19/2013 01:33:40 PM · #7

My version at Shutterstock was taken about five years ago at the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, and is one of my most popular downloads ... :-)

hihosilver

Nikon D200

Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D IF-ED

07/19/2013 02:24:42 PM · #8

Gosh...that flower looks so familiar! Then, I remembered the one at the Huntington Museum! My kids and I were quite fascinated with this particular plant. But, the venus bug eating plant remained the favorite. ;-)

Message edited by author 2013-07-19 14:28:58.

MinsoPhoto

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

07/19/2013 02:35:15 PM · #9

Originally posted by GeneralE:

My version at Shutterstock was taken about five years ago at the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, and is one of my most popular downloads ... :-)

Maybe you will get a bit of a bump in sales with the bloom underway.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

07/19/2013 02:46:39 PM · #10

Originally posted by MinsoPhoto:

Originally posted by GeneralE:
My version at Shutterstock was taken about five years ago at the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, and is one of my most popular downloads ... :-)

Maybe you will get a bit of a bump in sales with the bloom underway.

Likely -- there seems to be one of these blooming somewhere in the world every couple of months for maybe the past year or so, so I've been getting at least a couple of downloads every month. So far it's made about $92 -- not very much, but better than a kick in the you-know-where!

Enlightened

Nikon D7100

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

07/21/2013 10:13:33 AM · #11

It's fun to watch the visitors posing and taking pictures in front of it!! One little guy was not very keen to have his picture taken!

Devinder

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

07/21/2013 10:44:22 AM · #12

thanks for sharing!

SEG

Nikon D7100

Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D

07/21/2013 04:13:08 PM · #13

Never heard of this flower before. Thanks for the good read.

ambaker

Google Glass Google Glass

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

07/21/2013 08:52:37 PM · #14

... And it's blooming. The flower has opened over the last 3-4 hours. Impressive!

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

07/21/2013 09:10:01 PM · #15

That is so not fair!



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We went up there today! And it was still closed -- we missed it by 4 hours!!!!!!!

Message edited by GeneralE - Bolded art ....

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

07/21/2013 10:10:27 PM · #16

What's not fair, Wendy, is not putting a carriage return or a coupla spaces in that line of yours, so we don't have to scroll on mobile devices...

aliqui

Nikon D300s

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

07/21/2013 10:23:32 PM · #17

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

What's not fair, Wendy, is not putting a carriage return or a coupla spaces in that line of yours, so we don't have to scroll on mobile devices...

Surely it's understandable in her moment of extreme distress...

07/21/2013 10:32:00 PM · #18

Originally posted by aliqui:

Originally posted by Bear_Music:
What's not fair, Wendy, is not putting a carriage return or a coupla spaces in that line of yours, so we don't have to scroll on mobile devices...

Surely it's understandable in her moment of extreme distress...

And it was extreme distress -- because it took 3 hours hours to get up there and 4.5 hours to get back. And it opened after we left. :(

*sigh*

Beetle

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM

07/21/2013 10:57:49 PM · #19

Aaawww poor Wendy!

I actually liked seeing it earlier with a bunch of people around it - helped to give that sense of scale that is lacking right now.

Cory

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV

07/21/2013 11:27:39 PM · #20

Message edited by GeneralE - Bolded art ....

ROFL.. He made text art with the offending post. And it's a corpse flower, prebloom.

LanndonKane

Nikon D800

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 16-35 f/4 ED VR

07/21/2013 11:38:53 PM · #21

"For instance, the Stapelia asterias flower is coated with fine hairs that make the flower resemble moldy meat."

Can anyone who knows about evolutionary science explain to me how a flower can evolve to mimic a piece of meat.

Cory

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM

07/21/2013 11:56:10 PM · #22

Originally posted by LanndonKane:

Here's the horribly inaccurate, but simple version.

Step 1. A plant undergoes a random mutation, say, it produces a smell that's faintly reminiscent of rotten meat, but in just tiny quantities.

Step 2. This plant reproduces successfully, and it's offspring reproduce successfully while carrying on the mutated trait (many mutations end here, and are non-propagating)

Step 3. This plant may now have a slight advantage in terms of attracting pollinators, so it's likely that its pollen is spread slightly more successfully than other similar plants, which were present as the parents of the plant noted in Step 1 above.

Step 4. This plant's DNA is now widely spread, and there are many slight mutations that occur, many are non-propagating as in Step 2 above.

Step 5. A further random mutation occurs, which slightly increases the production of the foul-smelling substance, which attracts pollinators even more successfully.

Step 6. (Repeat steps 3 - 5 for several hundred thousand cycles (seasons))

Step 7. Another random mutation occurs that results in small hairs growing that are somewhat similar to the surface of rotten/moldy meat. This increases the time which pollinators dwell, increasing pollination success.

Step 8. (Repeat selection cycle, with failed and successful mutation)

Step 9. Further mutations cause additional advantages, some of which are propagating, since the pollinator of choice prefers to feed on dead meat, the most successful plants are those that most closely mimic dead meat, or that otherwise have traits that lead to increased odds of propagation.

Step 10. Corpse flower blooms, vawendy is upset because she missed it.

...

And there you go, how to ~~annoy vawendy~~ evolve a corpse flower in ten easy (and simplified to inaccuracy) steps.

Message edited by author 2013-07-21 23:56:26.