fb-pixelWhose ‘corpse flower’ will bloom first? - The Boston Globe Skip to main content

Whose ‘corpse flower’ will bloom first?

A “corpse flower” bloomed at the Franklin Park Zoo in 2012. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff/File

The “corpse flower” at Dartmouth College, known as “Morphy,” began blooming Friday afternoon and should be fully open by Saturday afternoon.

The rare plant, which is notorious for its awful smell, began blooming at about 2:30 p.m. Friday, said Amy Olson, a spokeswoman for the Hanover, N.H., institution.

The Life Sciences Center Greenhouse that holds “Morphy” will be open from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday so that the brave of nose can come take a look — and a smell, Olson said.

“Morphy” was one of two corpse flowers (scientific name: amorphophallus titanum) in the region that were poised to unfurl their leafy outer layers.

Advertisement



Officials at Boston’s Franklin Park Zoo, like those at Dartmouth, were on “flower watch” all week, eagerly waiting for theirs to bloom.

The flowers blossom about every six years. As they near that stage, they grow to great heights. Once they bloom, they produce a stench that has been likened to a rotting carcass, which has given them their nickname.

Morphy had grown to 7½ feet by Friday afternoon, Olson said.

The Franklin Park Zoo’s flower, Pugsley, had grown to 4½ feet.

Kim DeLong, greenhouse manager and curator at Dartmouth, said before Morphy began blooming Friday that she didn’t consider the dual-blooming process a competition. She said she was just excited there were two corpse flowers whose petals were set to strip away from the stalk, showing off their reddish, meat-colored insides, around the same time.

“But,” she said mischievously, “I think ours is bigger, if you’re into competition.”

DeLong said droves of people have turned out this week at the greenhouse, which is part of the department of biological sciences, hoping to be on hand when Morphy emits its nauseating scent.

The flowers typically stay open for two to three days once they bloom, but the stink is at its worst the first day.

Advertisement



Both the zoo and the college have been keeping people updated about the status of their flowers online. Dartmouth has set up a livestream of Morphy’s growth, while zoo officials have used Facebook and Twitter to document their “Bloom Watch.”


Steve Annear can be reached at steve.annear@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @steveannear.