I started seeing the Huntington Library Instagram page showing the Corpse Flower post on June 25, 2021. Luckily we got free tickets to visit the Huntington Library on July 1. Although the Corpse Flower hadn’t bloomed yet, I still felt lucky to get to look at it. This is the 12th Corpse Flower blooming in the Huntington Library and the first time was in August of 1999. It grew to 82 inches tall this time as of June 30. It began to bloom on the evening of July 5. When in flower, it exudes a foul stench that smells like rotting corpses. That is how it got its name from. We did not have the opportunity to smell it because it had not bloomed yet when we visited. Afterwards I saw this Instagram video showing the pollination process after the flower bloomed. It is very amazing. From the Huntington Library website you can also find many interesting information regarding Corpse Flower.
2021 年 6 月 25 日，我開始看到亨廷頓圖書館 Instagram 頁面上的屍花帖子。幸運的是，我們搶到了 7 月 1 日的免費參觀票。雖然它還沒有開花，但我仍然覺得很幸運能夠親自目睹一下。 這是亨廷頓圖書館的第 12 朵屍花，第一次是在 1999 年 8 月。截至 6 月 30 日，它已長到 82 英寸高。它於 7 月 5 日晚上開始開花。開花時，它 散發出一股惡臭，聞起來像腐爛的屍體。 這就是它的名字的由來。 我們沒有機會聞到它，因為我們去的時候它還沒有開花。 後來我看到了這個 Instagram 視頻，展示了花朵盛開後的授粉過程。 太不可思議了。在亨廷頓圖書館網站上，還可以找到許多關於屍花的有趣資料。
Notes 筆記
- Amorphophallus titanum, the titan arum, is a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world. Due to its odor, like that of a rotting corpse, the titan arum is characterized as a carrion flower, and is also known as the corpse flower or corpse plant. It is endemic to Sumatra which is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia.
- It is endemic to Sumatra which is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia.
- The titan arum’s inflorescence can reach over 10 feet in height. It consists of a fragrant spadix of flowers wrapped by a spathe. Near the bottom of the spadix, hidden from view inside the sheath of the spathe, the spadix bears two rings of small flowers. The upper ring bears the male flowers, the lower ring is spangled with bright red-orange carpels. The “fragrance” of the titan arum resembles rotting meat, attracting carrion-eating beetles and flesh flies that pollinate it. The inflorescence’s deep red color and texture contribute to the illusion that the spathe is a piece of meat. During bloom, the tip of the spadix is approximately human body temperature, which helps the perfume volatilize; this heat is also believed to assist in the illusion that attracts carcass-eating insects.
- In cultivation, the titan arum generally requires 7 to 10 years of vegetative growth before blooming for the first time. After its initial blooming, there can be considerable variation in blooming frequency. Some plants may not bloom again for another 7 to 10 years while others may bloom every two to three years.
- 巨花魔芋(泰坦魔芋)，是一種開花植物，擁有世界上最大的不分枝花序。由於它的氣味，就像腐爛的屍體一樣，泰坦魔芋被稱為腐肉花，也被稱為屍花或屍體植物。
- 它是印尼西部巽他群島之一的蘇門答臘的特有種。
- 屍花的花序可以達到 10 英尺多高。它由一朵被花苞包裹的芬芳花朵組成。在靠近花苞底部的地方，花苞的鞘內隱藏著看不見的小花，有兩個小花環。上環開有雄花，下環開有鮮紅橙色的心皮。屍花的“香味”類似於腐爛的肉，吸引食腐肉的甲蟲和為其授粉的果蠅。花序的深紅色和質地導致了佛焰苞是一塊肉的錯覺。開花時，穗尖接近人體溫度，有利於香味揮發；這種熱量也被認為有助於產生吸引食屍昆蟲的錯覺。
- 在栽培上，屍花一般需要 7 至 10 年的營養生長，才能首次開花。在它最初的綻放之後，綻放頻率可能會有相當大的變化。有些可能在 7 到 10 年內不會再次開花，而有些可能每兩到三年開花一次。
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Titan arum
- The Huntington: Corpse Flower
Plants Posts 植物的帖子