A Corpse Flower By Any Other Name...

By Robin Weaver

Odie

You’d think a plant with the nickname, “corpse flower,” would be right up a mystery writer’s alley, but if that writer has a sensitive proboscis, you’d be wrong. The plant stinks!

Despite the smell—or maybe because of it—folks stood in line at the University of North Carolina--Charlotte to get a glimpse (and a sniff) of Odie—a rare and infamous Amorphophallus titanum, or Titan Arum for short. This corpse flower takes at least seven years to produce a flower, and if the plant likes the growing conditions, it might bloom every three to five years.

When the plant does bloom, it produces one of the largest blossoms in the world, a deep purple flower with a green "horn" that can grow to over nine feet. The plant at UNC Charlotte is a relative dwarf at a mere 5’ 4” tall (here's where I wish I had a font for sarcasm). Wild Titan Arum only bloom three to six times during a forty-year lifespan. Cultivated corpse flowers usually do not live as long

If the plant is going to reproduce, pollination must occur during the first twelve hours of the bloom opening although the flower will remain for a couple of days with a fainter smell. Corpse flowers need pollen from a second plant to reproduce, so local botanist were very excited when a another flower bloomed at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens—not far from UNC Charlotte. Yes, pollen was collected and carried to the plant. I’m not sure if the Frankenstein efforts in the floral community flourished.  All I know is Corpse Flower Female + Corpse Flower Male equate to an offspring I wouldn't babysit.

Please! Give me an orchid any day!