But seriously
Corpse flower mania is leaving us with questions that need answering — like, canwe eat it?
Eventually Lois should form fruit if it's a full bloom.
The life cycle of the corpse flower
Wonder what the Stink-O-meter would've said about my dorm room.
Can we smoke it?
So, a corpse smells like my fridge after I go on vacation?
The "Stink-O-Meter" at The Houston Museum of Natural Science (an unscientific, non-electronic big green board with a red arrow that's adjusted by the staff) this morning read a whopping 8.5 and it's got us wondering — are we just unclean, or is it not all that bad?
It's certainly not a pleasant aroma, and we don't blame the staffers in masks, but Lois doesn't smell much different than a home refrigerator does after a long vacation. It's a little moldy smelling, like something you pushed way in the back and forgot about.
What happens after she blooms?
According to Los Angeles' Huntington Gardens, who kept a detailed blog when their corpse flower bloomed in June (the fourth bloom they've had), the Amorphophallus titanum will close up again and wilt. The tall stalk at the center, called the spadix, will collapse and, eventually, fruit will form at its base.
The fruit looks like little orange berries covering the spadix (sort of like orange corn on the cob) and will take around six months to develop. Once the fruit ripens and falls away, the plant goes dormant.
Lois will be removed from the Cockrell after she finishes blooming and put back into the museum greenhouse.
What's this fruit you speak of? Can we eat it?
It's not advised, says a staffer at Plant Delights Nursery of Raleigh, N.C., which sometimes sells the rare plant. Nearly all aroids, the family of plant the corpse flower belongs to, contain calcium oxilate, a compound that burns the human mouth.
How much does a corpse flower cost?
After the Huntington's corpse flower bloomed, they sold bulbs for $250 a pop. HMNS tells Culturemap the museum got its flower for the bargain basement price of $75.
Will the mania die down when every museum, arboretum and public garden has one?
Is this going to be like the craze that followed the release of the Glenn Close version of 101 Dalmatians, when everyone ran out to buy a Dalmatian (many of which ended up at humane societies due to their hyper, sometimes insolent natures)?
The corpse flower is a leafy cash cow. Yesterday alone the museum had 5,700 visitors. I'm no math whizz, but that ROI smells sweet.
Can you smoke it?
Had to ask.
