SMELL YOU LATER

While there are
usually lots of wonderful reasons for visitors to breathe deeply
at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden – like the heady scent of roses
in June – this month, visitors to the garden’s bonsai museum
are invited to smell an odor most foul.



And the garden’s billing it as a once in a lifetime experience!



BBG plant propagator Dr. Alessandro Chiari has been nurturing
this stinker, Amorphophallus titanum – more commonly known in
horticultural circles as the corpse flower because of its signature
halitosis – for several years. He can’t wait to get his first
whiff of the offensive aroma, which can be detected as soon as
the plant blooms. While the plant emits the putrid perfume to
entice pollinators (like carrion beetles and sweat bees), it
also seems to attract humans by the thousands who are drawn to
the idea of witnessing an event that’s as rare in its native
habitat – the tropical rainforests of Sumatra – as it is in cultivation.
(A blooming corpse flower from the San Francisco Conservatory
of Flowers is pictured at left.)



"Those that have been in close contact with the flower say
the smell is something you really can’t forget," assures
Chiari. In fact, BBG spokeswoman Leeann Lavin said that the security
guards would be provided with masks to help them brave the stench.



The enormous plant, nicknamed Baby by the BBG staff, has been
nurtured from a seedling since 1996. On July 31, Chiari discovered
the flower bud and ever since the staff has been monitoring the
plant’s progress, anticipating its first bloom (which will also
mark the first bloom of a corpse flower – ever – at BBG).



As of Aug. 9, the plant’s bud measured 64.5-inches, and Chiari,
who may camp out by the corpse plant if it seems likely she may
bloom overnight, was continuing to measure the plant’s speedy
growth three times a day and posting her stats on the garden’s
Web site, www.bbg.org, along with photos from BBG’s Web cam.




Chiari explained the need to baby-sit the corpse flower, "When
the plant will bloom is difficult to predict."



The Amorphophallus titanum is on display in the Brooklyn Botanic
Garden’s C.V. Starr Bonsai Museum. The garden is located at 900
Washington Ave. at Eastern Parkway in Prospect Heights. Viewing
is free with garden admission ($5 adults, $3 seniors and students
with ID, free for children younger than 16). For more information,
call (718) 623-7200 or call www.bbg.org.