Toronto Zoo: Rare Exotic Plant Blooms for the First Time
Earlier this year, an exotic tropical plant bloomed at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
There is a big and smelly flower like that one at the Toronto Zoo, and it’s about to bloom in a few days.
The plant comes from Indonesia, and it is called Amorphophallus titanium, but you might have heard it by the name “corpse plant” because of its disgusting smell.
The plant will probably bloom next week, wrote Toronto Zoo on their Twitter page (photo below).
In a first, the Greater Toronto Area will see the plant blooming. The corpse plant takes seven to ten years to grow and bloom for the first time. In a video posted by the zoo, curatorial gardener Paul Gellatly said:
“It’s the largest and smelliest flower in the world. It’s something that’s very special … we’re super excited here.”
A Smelly Beautiful Flower
This plant’s smell is very special and with a good reason. It uses flies and carrion beetles for pollination. Its smell and looks are very different from other plants. The bloom is red to show “exposed flesh,” and the smell is similar to the one of rotting meat, writes the zoo on their website.
Two days before the blooming period, the plant grows very fast – 2-3 inches a day, and reaches a height of three to four feet.
The zoo explained in their Twitter post:
“Extended viewing hours will be in effect during the bloom period. Once we confirm when the plant is projected to start its 8-36-hour bloom, we will invite the public to visit and experience this unique opportunity.”
Until now, Canada has had only four or five corpse plants blooming, so the zoo expects to have a huge crowd of plant enthusiasts to visit this smelly flower during its flowering period.
Doris’s passion for writing started to take shape in college where she was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. Even though she ended up working in IT for more than 7 years, she’s now back to what he always enjoyed doing. With a true passion for technology, Doris mostly covers tech-related topics.
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