Ever wonder what a corpse flower smells like? Well, you haven't much time to find out! Head on over to Laconia, New Hampshire, to catch a whiff of what it's really all about, and help out children from the area at the same time.No word on the size of the beast. Most corpse flowers have attracted attention due not only to their rampant aroma, but also due to their jaw-dropping dimensions. Shown here for example is Big Bucky, who enjoyed fame from its home of UW-Madison last summer as visitors gawked at its 98-inch height and remarkable stench.
Thanks to Cranky Yankee over at the New England Anomaly mailing list for the tip! Here is the original article:
'Corpse flower' is blooming
August 22, 2006
Information from: Citizen, http://www.fosters.com/citizen
LACONIA, N.H. --A rare "corpse flower" started blooming on Monday -- and if you want to see it and smell and its pungent odor of decaying flesh you've got just a couple of days.
The plant's owner hopes to take advantage of the rare blooming to raise money for children's programs sponsored by the Kiwanis Club in Laconia and LRGHealthcare Dental Resource Center.
The flower, nicknamed "Tilly" the Titan, is available for viewing at the Lakeport Fire Station. The admission costs $10.
The "corpse flower" -- or amorphophallus titanum -- is native to the equatorial rain forests of Sumatra, where it is pollinated by carrion and dung beetles attracted by its foul aroma. The plant was discovered in 1878 by an Italian botanist, Odoardo Beccari, and first bloomed in the United States in 1937 at the New York Botanical Gardens.
The flower resembles a massive jack-in-the-pulpit and grows from a large tuber or bulb. It weighs as much as 170 pounds. It can reach nine feet in height and open to a diameter of three or four feet. The plant blooms rarely and then for just
three to five days.
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On the Net:
http://www.laconiaschools.org/corpseflower
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