Good Old Fashioned Blog Post
Jul. 22nd, 2017 01:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23In the good old days of LiveJournal, way before Reddit and Facebook, we shared crazy local stories here. Of course, we had fark and digg, too, but it didn't beat a personal find.
In which case, I may have also blogged about this when it happened ten years ago, but it is time for the local Corpse Flower to bloom.
(From wikipedia)
Several news outlets have reported on it, but this should give you all you need to know.
A corpse flower is expected to bloom at any moment at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden.
The flower was expected to bloom Wednesday night, then again Thursday night, and now it could pop open at any time.
Horticulturists at the garden say the flower has begun “peeling” which is a good sign. The corpse flower gets its name from the odor it emits when it first blooms.
The flower only blooms once every three to five years.
The plant is native to Borneo and Sumatra, and wiki lists about 20 plants that are in various botanical centers in the US. This particular plant is the only one in the state of Iowa.
The last I knew, everyone was still waiting, and with what must be some kind of weird anticipation, the kind of morbid curiosity one gets with trying spoiled milk. A rare Garbage Pail Kids version of a Solar Eclipse or GG Allin flavored Halley's Comet.
Of course, as per usual, local media fills in some extra tidbits
For example, it does what it does as to protect itself from beetles who find it tasty, but are repelled from the smell. It has been nicknamed "Carrion My Wayward Son" via popular poll. It also can best be described as smelling like a decaying whale.
As an aside, I have been to the Botanical Center a couple of times (as documented here elsewhere) and the early Oughts it actually served as a home to punk bands. Des Moines has become a much friendlier live concert city, but this has only happened since I moved here. I saw a band that eventually spun into indie-rock faves Crocodiles play there for about 20 fans, mostly kids (and it was awesome).
The Corpse Flower (as all great internet age phenomena) has a live webcam, while we await the bloom, and lets you see it minus the smell. (Time lapsed video of previous blooming is also widely available)
In which case, I may have also blogged about this when it happened ten years ago, but it is time for the local Corpse Flower to bloom.
(From wikipedia)
Several news outlets have reported on it, but this should give you all you need to know.
A corpse flower is expected to bloom at any moment at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden.
The flower was expected to bloom Wednesday night, then again Thursday night, and now it could pop open at any time.
Horticulturists at the garden say the flower has begun “peeling” which is a good sign. The corpse flower gets its name from the odor it emits when it first blooms.
The flower only blooms once every three to five years.
The plant is native to Borneo and Sumatra, and wiki lists about 20 plants that are in various botanical centers in the US. This particular plant is the only one in the state of Iowa.
The last I knew, everyone was still waiting, and with what must be some kind of weird anticipation, the kind of morbid curiosity one gets with trying spoiled milk. A rare Garbage Pail Kids version of a Solar Eclipse or GG Allin flavored Halley's Comet.
Of course, as per usual, local media fills in some extra tidbits
For example, it does what it does as to protect itself from beetles who find it tasty, but are repelled from the smell. It has been nicknamed "Carrion My Wayward Son" via popular poll. It also can best be described as smelling like a decaying whale.
As an aside, I have been to the Botanical Center a couple of times (as documented here elsewhere) and the early Oughts it actually served as a home to punk bands. Des Moines has become a much friendlier live concert city, but this has only happened since I moved here. I saw a band that eventually spun into indie-rock faves Crocodiles play there for about 20 fans, mostly kids (and it was awesome).
The Corpse Flower (as all great internet age phenomena) has a live webcam, while we await the bloom, and lets you see it minus the smell. (Time lapsed video of previous blooming is also widely available)
