-FUPPETS- Corpse Flower Update: The Stink Is Here

Checking in with the Houston Museum of Natural Science's blog -FUPPETS- has gotten word that the infamous Amorphophallus titania, or "Corpse Flower", has begun it's wretched stink. It has taken a couple of weeks to get here but it has been well worth it.
The stench is so wretched that the HMNS staff that attend to the flower have started wearing gas masks. No lie!

Well, Houston – the stank is upon us.

We got the call at 4:30 this morning, with the news that those of you who were queing up to see her overnight already knew – Lois is a stinky, stinky plant.

Seriously. She smells. Bad.

So bad that staff and media in the gallery with Lois are availing themselves of gas masks to cope. And we’re not even to peak stink yet. Lois’ spadix (the tall center spike) is heating up – and that heat is what helps the stench to spread. As of 7 am, the spadix was 90 degrees, while the surrounding environment was a mere 81. Zac [the museum's resident horticulturist] has also measured Lois height a final time – and she stands at 69.75 inches tall. - ( Erin F. - HMNS )

The Beginning of the Bloom [Corpse Flower] 7.21.10 from HMNS on Vimeo.

There have been only 28 other blooms of this flower in the U.S. since it was discovered and brought over here by horticulturists in the 19th century. It is a very rare sight and smell indeed.

Houston Corpse Flower Brings the Funk

-FUPPETS- made the trip yesterday to witness the putrid olfactory melange wafting from the Corpse Flower at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. (Click the images below to enlarge)

Even though the flower had not yet truly opened, the noxious smell of rotten flesh was still in the air. People from all over were there to see this monstrosity. It seems that either humans are curious about any morbid subject, or there are a lot of horticulturists and botany fans out there! The lines were long but not overly so. Due to the nature of this temporary exhibit, there were no signs or museum docents there to speak about the flower, so anyone who did not do their research (or read -FUPPETS-) beforehand was not going to learn too much about the largest flower on Earth. It was still an awesome sight, having grown 60 inches in less than two weeks.

Like Halley's Comet, or any other wonder of nature, it pays to be informed about what one is going to be looking at. It seems that too many people go through life unimpressed by the amazing shit in life because they expect an amazing experience, instead of just expecting a glimpse at something which is in itself an amazing thing. Oh well. -FUPPETS- was there.

In tribute to the Corpse Flower, -FUPPETS- presents the one and only UNWOUND, performing Corpse Pose.

UNWOUND - Corpse Pose

Houston CORPSE FLOWER Update

The Houston Museum of Natural Science has decided to stay open 24 hours a day until the infamous "corpse flower", Amorphophalus titanium, finishes it's once-in-a-lifetime blooming.

There is a webcam here that feeds live images of this incredible specimen.

-FUPPETS- will be paying a visit to the Museum today to catch a first-hand glimpse and whiff of this most remarkable flower. Full details will be forthcoming. This flower's bloom is very unpredictable, but it has grown to a height of over 60 inches, and is starting to show color on the edges of it's "petals." The intense reek of death it emanates is strongest for the first 2 hours after it blooms, but it remains stinking for up to ten additional hours.
Explorers in Sumatra thought, because of it's amazing size and pungent stench, that it was a huge man-eating plant!

CORPSE FLOWER To Bloom In Houston Soon

-FUPPETS- has been interested in the Titan Arum, or Amorphophallus Titanum, since first reading about this strange flower years and years ago. It is one of two flowers that are both called "corpse flower" due to the highly intense rotten flesh smell that is released by the flowering plant when it is ready to pollinate. It is also one of the rarest plants in the world, originally from Sumatra.
It's Latin name means "misshapen phallus", or "phallus without form," and it is easy to see why. Here is an image of the Museum's flower as it currently appears.

Here is an image of what it will look like once it flowers.

The Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) has been growing one of these plants from a small root bulb for 6 years in the Cockrell Butterfly Center, which is part of the HMNS.

See the Corpse Flower at HMNS! [Amorphophallus titanum] from HMNS on Vimeo.

There have been only 28 blooms of the Titan Arum in the United States. The individual plants may only bloom once in their long life. The HMNS is expecting their flower to bloom this weekend or sometime next week. The lime green bud has been growing at a rate of about 4 inches PER DAY!

"As it's common name warns, the corpse flower is a smelly thing, with the whithering stench of rotting flesh. As the spathe begins to unfurl, the spadix becomes a gas chamber, heating it's natural oil and emitting noxious fumes for 8 to 12 hours to attract pollinating carrion beetles." - ( Kathy Huber - Houston Chronicle )

So go to the Houston Museum of Natural Science this weekend and take a look at, and maybe a whiff of, one of nature's wonders. You may never get another chance.