Titan Arum
The world's largest unbranched inflorescence, Amorphophallus titanum, also known as Titan arum or corpse flower, bloomed in the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory on June 29, 2005.
The 42-inch tall corpse flower lasted through Tuesday, July 5 before it collapsed.
Staff brushed pollen donated by Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami onto the female flowers on Thursday, June 30 in hopes the plant will produce seed. With any luck the Crystal Bridge will be home to more corpse flowers in the future.
Pollen samples were taken from the plant on July 2. See the Daily Photo Shoot page for photos.
The Titan arum bulb was donated to the Myriad Botanical Gardens on July 13, 2000 by Baltimore physician Clark T. Riley after visiting the Crystal Bridge.
The flowering of a titan arum is a rare and significant horticultural event that has occurred less than 10 times worldwide in 2005. |
