The Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco is getting ready for a legendarily foul plant to bloom. The 4 foot, 4 inch tall flower is an endangered plant known as the titan arum, or, the corpse flower. The name comes from the odor it emits, which is described as smelling somewhere between dead animals and moldy gym socks. Despite smelling worse than anything, the Conservatory is preparing for a flock of tourists eager for the chance to get a whiff of the flower, who is ironically named Chanel. Staff made the announcement when they noticed the flower beginning to change color. When it starts to turn red, they know its about to open up.
The reason that people are willing to make the trek is because the flower is exceedingly rare. Native to the the island of Sumatra, it is estimated that less than 1,000 titan arums still still exist. In the wild, the plant will flower in a way which sends a stench that can extend for miles. The smell attracts all manner of flies and dung beetles, who will gather to the plant and help pollinate it. However, it also only does this rarely during its life cycle. It can take years for it to get big enough to bloom. When it does, it also only does so for around 48 hours at a time. Between the impressive size of the flower and what you have to endure to actually look at it, specimens are tourist attractions around the world.
How To See The Corpse Flower For Yourself
Staff at the Conservatory are expecting lines of tourists. Especially because the Conservatory provides free admission for San Francisco residents. Everyone else will have to pay $13 to line up and smell something you could do for free at a sewer. To accommodate expected crowds, they will also keep the exhibit open after hours for people to look at it in at night. People hoping to make a date night out of the event is advised to maybe have a late dinner.
For people who aren’t so eager to make the trip, the Conservatory provides a livestream for people to watch the Corpse Flower remotely. That way, you get front row seats and don’t have to risk losing your lunch. Part of the problem is that the Conservatory cannot actually pinpoint when it will bloom, so people have to just hope they are lucky enough to be there when it happens. So get your friends together and start placing bets while we wait for the Corpse Flower to erupt. Expect the flower to bloom between today and the beginning of next week.
