TBD

TBD on Ning

Anyone cool enough to go see the corpse flower with me?

HOUSTON—Hundreds of people have shown up at the Museum of Natural Science over the past few days to watch the corpse flower bloom.
Originally, horticulturists Zac Stayton hoped "Lois" would open on Sunday. As of Monday night, though, people were still waiting.
Stayton compared the waiting to that of being at a hospital for childbirth.
"She’s telling us she’s ready but we can’t force her," said Stayton.
The museum will stay open round the clock until "Lois" blooms.
Named after a former employee’s mother, Lois has grown to more than five feet and is getting bigger by the hour.
The Amorphophallus titanum, otherwise known as a corpse flower, has only opened 28 times in the entire country’s history. When Lois blooms, it will be the second time ever in Texas.
Maud Lipscomb heard about the rare plant at the museum and showed up to see the bloom.
"It’s almost extinct and we get a chance to see it," said Lipscomb. "So I have to come back."
When in bloom, the flower—native to the Indonesian Island of Sumatra—dazzles the eyes and offends the nose. Visitors to the museum Sunday were excited about both experiences.
"I’d like to see how it looks when it’s in bloom and the smell," said visitor Michael Sony. "I just wanna experience it."
Experts who have seen one of these flowers bloom in the past describe the smell as a combination of cooking cabbage and the stench of a dead rat in the wall. The purpose of the strong odor is to attract pollinating beetles wanting to lay eggs.
Nancy Greig, director of the Cockrell Butterfly Center, is running the exhibit. She said the interest has been through the roof.
"It’s the biggest, the smelliest and it fires people’s imagination. People keep asking ‘when is it gonna open, when is it gonna open?’ We have never experienced this," admitted Greig.
Once Lois does open, her stink will last up to 12 hours. Her beauty, though, will be on display for two days.

Tags: Texas

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Replies to This Discussion

Chez, what did Lois smell like when you looked her up on the web? French bread?
While it's a lovely story and a beautiful flower, I'm gonna sit this one out--not into the stink ;-)
I avoid burnt orange. I am allergic to burnt orange. Just an Aggie thing.
Lois takes a final bow. After weeks of drawing record crowds to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Lois the corpse flower bids farewell or at less her bloom does.
Story of my life.....*takes a bow...left stage exit....*
what?! What happened? Did she bloom fully? Did she stink fully? All this anticipation & now she's GONE? WHAT?!?
She was a real stinker on Saturday.
That is not black cloth, but part of her bloom.
I think it's lovely. Like raven hair, parted right down the middle. She has style, that one, even at the end.
Was this a natural death? Or, is foul play suspected?
Wow. The cycle of life in all its glory. Does this mean that the stinkiest bits arrive rarely and don't last long? If only that could be true.

:-D
I think we should embrace this as a philosophy toward life: it really stinks sometimes, but not for long, and there's delightful surprises & lots of beauty & excitement along the way. That Lois... ever the philosopher.

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