Ohio State awaits bloom of stinky corpse flower

[May 14, 2013]  COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Researchers at an Ohio State University greenhouse are awaiting a rare second bloom by a rainforest plant known as a corpse flower because of its unpleasant odor.

The university says the nearly 6-foot titan arum is expected to open this week, releasing another round of its rotting-flesh smell a little more than two years after it first flowered.

A second corpse flower opened briefly at the greenhouse last May.

A university spokeswoman tells The Columbus Dispatch (http://bit.ly/15FLGSU) cultivators are lucky to have three blooms in three years. Each brief bloom attracts visitors hoping to catch a glimpse or a whiff of it.

The plant expected to bloom soon is nicknamed Woody, after Buckeyes football coach Woody Hayes.

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Online:

Ohio State University greenhouse updates:
http://bioscigreenhouse.osu.edu/titan-arum/

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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com/

[Associated Press]

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