Perry Smiles, Anthesis is Near Posted on October 14th, 2013 by

It’s now official – Perry the Corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum) will bloom soon! We were able to detect a bit of spathe by peeking into Perry’s shoot during the photo session this past Friday (October 11). Over the weekend, Perry smiled in all his/her glory, and this morning (Monday) at about 10:00 we had a short photo session. The characteristic lettuce-like appearance of the newly-revealed spathe is a beautiful thing to see. For those who might think of salad or sandwiches at my mention of lettuce – know that plants in Perry’s botanical family (Araceae) contain significant chemical defenses. Munching is not recommended.

Things will now move along very fast. I estimate, very roughly, that about three weeks might elapse before Perry’s anthesis. Perry and her/his admirerswill be appearing more frequently on this blog in the coming weeks, as will more detailed photos of Perry. Pictured today are Brian O’Brien, Nick Ulen (Gustavus ’15), and Serenity Mahoney (Gustavus ’15).

A second Perry webcam went live on the Internet today! It has a perspective from an angle above Perry, so viewers should be able to see part of what’s happening inside of the inflorescence.

Click here for both Perry webcams (updated every five minutes; the original has been running since March 2007, so check out archival links). Perry is also on Facebook, and posts regularly.

DSCN2253 cr m Brian Nick Serenity Perry Oct 14 2013

Perry has fully revealed inflorescence #3 (the earlier two were in 2007 and 2010). Pictured, rear, left to right, are Brian O’Brien, Nick Ulen (Gustavus ’15), and Serenity Mahoney (Gustavus ’15). Perry is in front. :)

 

 


3 Comments

  1. Tom Gover says:

    Why does this remind me of a breaching whale?

    • Brian O'Brien says:

      Tom – I’ve heard a comparison with baleen before via a friend on Flickr. And the inflorescence is rising at the correct angle, and at a breaching whale sort of rate, given that it’s a plant.

  2. Ed Stec says:

    Brian
    Congratulations, keep us informed of its progress