It’s The BIG DAY – Lois Is Blooming and You Can Smell Her! July 23, 2010

Watch “Lois Live” on:

 http://www.click2houston.com/video/10913036/index.html

Rare and Exotic “Corpse Flower” now blooming at the Houston Museum of Natural Science

 

 

WHEN:           The Corpse Flower “Lois” is blooming and smelling now.

For the latest news on The Corpse Flower’s development, check the Museum’s blog at http://blog.hmns.org/?tag=lois, or to see a live webcam on the Corpse Flower, check http://www.hmnsmedia.org/CorpseFlower.

 

WHAT:          In a rare occurrence that has been previously documented only once in Texas and 28 times in the United States, an Amorphophallus titanum plant, better known as the “Corpse Flower,” has started blooming and smelling this morning at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. VIDEO: Corpse Flower at HMNS.  The smell has started getting stronger and will last for much of the day.

This highly unusual plant is native to Sumatra and is currently endangered in the wild. The spectacular flower can be over 10 feet tall and produces an overpoweringly putrid stench of rotting meat. This strong odor, thought to attract natural pollinators like carrion-eating beetles, typically lasts for less than 24 hours.

The Museum’s flower, affectionately called “Lois,” has grown to be almost six feet. Lois will probably not bloom again for many years, if ever.

The Cockrell Butterfly Center is open 24 hours through the end of the flower’s bloom.

 

WHY:            This is a unique opportunity to photograph or film an extraordinarily rare flower that may only bloom once in its lifetime.

                       “The Corpse Flower is unique because it’s totally unpredictable. No one really knows what triggers a given plant to flower, and a plant may only flower once in its lifetime. We’ve had ours for six years and this is the first time it has bloomed—we’re very lucky,” said Greig. “It may be the largest, smelliest flower in the world, but its beauty is unparalleled.”

  

The Houston Museum of Natural Science—one of the nation’s most-heavily attended museums—is a centerpiece of the Houston Museum District. With four floors of permanent exhibit halls, including the Wortham IMAX® 3D Theatre, Cockrell Butterfly Center, Burke Baker Planetarium and George Observatory and as host to world-class and ever-changing touring exhibitions, the Houston Museum has something to delight every age group. With such diverse and extraordinary offerings, a trip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, located at 5555 Hermann Park Drive in the heart of the Museum District, is always an adventure.