Gustavus Students, Faculty, and Staff,
When Perry opens, there will be a need for people to help with guiding the crowds through Nobel Hall, providing information of various types about both Perry and the campus, and miscellaneous other duties. If you’re interested in helping out, contact Emily Hoefs, our greenhouse manager, via e-mail: ehoefs@gustavus.edu.
Is Perry open to the public? Will he be once he opens? If so, what are the hours that visitors are welcome? Thanks for this wonderful website and camera show!
PF,
Perry will be open to the public for two days once the inflorescence opens. Check this blog, the Gustavus website, and the Titan Arum website for updates.
Great Website following the plant! Shared it with gardening friends in England.
What are the ‘petals’ like? The ones that will open. How many are there? Are they leathery, or velvety?
Annette,
Technically, Perry doesn’t have any petals. The large, petal-like part that you see is called a spathe and the actual flowers are buried deep in the bottom of the funnel created by the spathe. The flowers don’t have petals, which are normally used to attract pollenators. Perry attracts pollenators through his/her…. ummmm… aroma. The spathe appears to be one piece that wraps all the way around. I haven’t touched it, but on the outside the texture looks like lettuce and the inside looks like the texture of flower petals. Hope this helps!