New York enjoys rare phenomenon of a corpse flower in bloom

Plant lovers in New York are enjoying a smelly treat with the rare bloom of a corpse flower at the New York Botanical Garden.



The botanical phenomenon, which typically lasts 24 to 36 hours, began on Thursday afternoon. It will likely be several Sprinkler System Installation more years before the flower blooms again, according to http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/outdoors/landscaping the Botanical Garden.

Famous for its highly pungent odor, which has been compared to the smell of rotting meat, the Amorphopallus Titanum, or corpse flower, has a highly unpredictable bloom cycle. Native to Sumatra in Indonesia, a specimen of the flower first bloomed in the Western Hemisphere at the New York Botanical Garden in 1937. A second specimen bloomed at the site in 1939.

The flower, which uses its stench to attract pollinators that feed on dead animals, has been carefully nurtured by Botanical Garden staff for almost a decade.

Horticulturalists noticed that the flower bud had formed July 15. On July 18 the flower was moved from the Botanical Garden's behind-the-scenes Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where it is now on display in the Palms of the World Gallery.

One of the largest flowers in the world, corpse flowers can grow to 12 feet in their natural habitat and 8 feet in cultivation. The Botanical Garden notes that, although the enormous plant resembles one giant flower, it comprises a fleshy central spike called a spadix that holds two rings of male and female flowers, wrapped by a frilly spathe - a modified leaf that looks like a petal.

"During bloom, the spadix self-heats to approximately human body temperature, which helps disseminate odor particles," explained the Botanical Garden, in a statement. "The spathe unfurls during the course of about 36 hours (full bloom) before withering and dying back."

The Botanical Garden is livestreaming the flower on a Corpse Flower Cam.

Plant lovers in the Windy City enjoyed Sprinkler System the rare phenomenon of a corpse flower in bloom when one of the Chicago Botanic Garden's eight corpse flowers, dubbed Alice, began blooming, much to the surprise of horticulturalists.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers



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