Officials were expecting Morticia to bloom Friday the 13th, but it seems the corpse flower had other plans that day and decided to bloom a day later.
During its bloom, the corpse flower releases a signature morbid stench, similar to that of a rotting flesh of corpse. The odor attracts pollinators such as sweat flies and carrion beetles. It holds the title for being the biggest flowering plant in the world, with some plants reaching more than 10 feet tall. The corpse flower is also the largest group of flowers that has both female and male flowers.
The Amorphophallus titanum or giant corpse flower is native to Sumatra, where it is also rarely seen to bloom. Morticia is cultivated in Moody Gardens, a nonprofit educational center that aims to use nature in conservation, rehabilitation, research and recreation. For a corpse flower to bloom while in cultivation is an extremely rare event. Morticia is the only corpse flower to bloom twice in Texas. Its first bloom occurred in 2012.
"We certainly were expecting her to bloom yesterday, but Mother Nature is very unpredictable," said Moody Gardens' horticulture exhibit manager Donita Brannon.
The blooming schedule of these flowering plants is very unpredictable, as they do not have any specific bloom season. The flowers can bloom anytime of the year, which can range from 2 to 12 years. There is even no guarantee that the plant will ever bloom again. The beautiful flowers of these plants are best to see during daytime. They release their most powerful stench during dusk.
In 2015, a 10-foot corpse flower cultivated in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh bloomed for the first time in 12 years.
Corpse flowers develop from a tuber that can weigh as much as 200 pounds. During its somatic stage, the tuber energizes to produce the huge bloom before its goes into dormancy for three months. As the flower emerges from dormancy, the flower will produce a flower spike that signifies that the flower will bloom in about a month or so. Morticia emerged from its dormant state last May 1.
Moody Gardens has six other corpse flower tubers located in their Rainforest Pyramid that Brannon hopes to bloom in the future.
Moody Gardens are expecting guests to flock the garden to witness the beauty of Morticia, which has a short blooming period of 2 to 4 days only. Special corpse flower visitation and viewing hours will be from Thursday to Sunday at 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
"She is even more beautiful than I expected," shared Brannon. "We are celebrating and invite guests to hurry out to the Rainforest Pyramid to share this experience with us."
Photo: Mike Ball | Flickr
