Update: For the latest news and information, visit the Titan Arum blog.
Update 3/16 11:30 a.m.: Visiting hours have been extended to 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. until the arum blooms, and then staying open until 11 p.m. while blooming. We should have a good idea by mid-afternoon Friday if it will bloom tonight, but it looks more likely that it will be Saturday or Sunday night.
From Andy Leed, Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station/College of Agriculture and Life Sciences greenhouse manager 3/13/2012:
This titan arum, Amorphophallus titanum, is preparing to flower in the Kenneth Post Lab Greenhouses at Cornell University. On March 13, the unopened inflorescence measured 57 inches long. In recent days it’s been growing about 2 inches daily.
These plants, native only to Sumatra, bloom very infrequently, and then only for one or two nights before collapsing. It’s difficult to predict accurately, but the inflorescence will probably open within days. Until it opens, there’s no noticeable odor. After that there’s little doubt where the name “Corpse Flower” comes from.
For more information, see:
- Titan Arum Factsheet
- Rare ‘corpse plant’ preparing to bloom on campus [Cornell Chronicle, 3/13/2012]
Visiting:
This Titan arum is part of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Conservatory collection, and is temporarily located in Green Greenhouse 114, attached to Kenneth Post Lab on Tower Road. It will be available for viewing by the public:
- Wednesday, 3/14: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
- Thursday, 3/15: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
- Friday, 3/16: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
- Weekend hours to be determined
The schedule may change. See www.cals.cornell.edu/corpseplant for the latest schedule. Additional nighttime hours will be added when the arum flowers. Cornell plant biologists and horticulturalists are welcome anytime the facility is open (8:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Friday).
Please be careful not to disturb the plant or the photographic equipment.