**UPDATED: THE FLOWER IS IN BLOOM!**
Who would have thought a stinky flower would be all the rage in Denver?!
For the first time ever Denver Botanic Gardens is expecting the large and exceptionally smelly Amorphophallus titanum or corpse flower to bloom. This is the first time a corpse flower will bloom in the Rocky Mountain Region. This giant of the plant world is native to Sumatra and is in the arum family (Araceae), the same family shared by familiar plants like peace and calla lilies.
The flower emerges from a corm over the course of several weeks and at its pinnacle unfurls a large burgundy ruffled collar-like spathe that may be several feet wide. The spathe surrounds the tall spadix which contains both male and female flowers and measures over 5 feet in height. The flower emits a rather foul smell for about one to two days to attract its primary pollinator, the carrion beetle. The exact timing of peak flowering is unpredictable and it currently measures 5′ 2.75″ tall .
Watch the live feed of the corpse flower on the StinkyCam!
Stinky has received over 25,000 visitors over the past 10 days!! #corpseflower
Barbara
That is quite a name for a flower, but if it smells that badly guess it is appropriate!
Crystal
Little Shop of Horrors?
Joanna
i’m in love. i’m dying to see this, but the one day i’ll be in denver this week it’ll be too late in the day i bet… does anyone remember a movie from the 90s in which a corpse flower was prominently featured? it might have been one of the dennis the menace movies, actually,
Marsha
Is it sad I sat for an hour last night watching the live streaming?
Gretchen
I just don’t get why people are so darn excited waiting for a flower to bloom. Nor do I understand why we are spending so much media time on it. (Sorry just my personal opinion).
Laura
Joanna — the Botanic Garden has expanded hours this week so you might not be too late! If you are, I can just send you some of my son’s gym socks and you can probably get the same effect…