Rare corpse flower to bloom again at Franklin Park Conservatory
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The famous corpse flower at the Franklin Park Conservatory is in bloom for the first time since 2020.
The rare tropical species typically first blooms 10 years after being planted, then every four to five years for the rest of its life. Alexis Lorentzen, the horticulture project manager at the conservatory, said the long wait has made patrons all the more excited to see the flower.
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“I think the general public is super excited,” Lorentzen said. “The first time it bloomed, it was during COVID and there was a big swarm of people here to come and see it because it is so rare and it’s kind of one of those once in a lifetime (things) — you see it if you get the chance to.”
Aside from its rarity, the bloom differs from other flowers thanks to its specific stench, which is said to resemble rotting flesh.
The conservatory said it is hard to pinpoint exactly when these flowers will be in full bloom, but they are expecting to see the flower do so within the next week.
“It’s hard to predict since it’s such an unpredictable bloom,” Lorentzen said. “But we are expecting within the next week that it will open up and show that really pretty maroon in fluorescence that we call the flower.”
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Lorentzen hopes that people in the community stay excited and continue to come to the conservatory. She wants people to enjoy the plants but also support them to be saved and protected.
“This plant is known as being vulnerable and close to kind of that boundary of extinction and so we just want to protect these species,” Lorentzen said.
The corpse flower is located in the Dorothy M. Davis Showhouse at the conservatory. People are able to purchase tickets to the conservatory online or in person in order to see the flower for themselves.
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