Issue date: 6/12/08 Section: News

Thut Greenhouse Manager Steven Malehorn examines the Titan Arum plant, a rare tropical plant native to Sumatra, Indonesia. "My best guess is that it's about 10 days away [from flowering] based on other universities and the research they've done," said Maelhorn. For daily updates, photos and more information on the Titan Arum, go to http://www.eiu.edu/~biology/news/titan_arum.htm (Erin Matheny/The Daily Eastern News)

Steven Malehorn, manager of the Thut Greenhouse, has seen many flowers bloom. This month, however, Malehorn will witness an unusual blooming.

The rare Titan Arum plant will flower after maturing for six and a half years.

According to The Huntington Botanical Gardens Web site, his peculiar plant is native only in Sumatra, Indonesia. It is considered an endangered species because it only grows there in the wild.

During its vegetative growth, the plant produces one leaf that can reach 20 feet height and 15 feet wide with the petiole, stem, as thick as a person's thigh.

When the Titan Arum flowers, it contains fruit that have seeds so that it can eventually reproduce.

It typically takes five to seven years for the plant to flower because of the long growth of the leaf, Malehorn said.

The single leaf manufactured by the Titan Arum takes between 12 to 18 months to develop. Once the leaf dies, the underground tuber, which stores energy, goes dormant for about six to nine month before another leaf grows.

As time goes by, the energy stored in the tuber accumulates and eventually becomes strong enough to mature the plant to flower.

An unpleasant occurrence during the blooming is when the Titus Arum releases a strong odor that smells similar to rotten meat and can attract various insects for pollination, according to the Huntington Botanical Gardens.

"Local natives in Sumatra would locate the plant by smell 50 feet away," Malehorn said.

Malehorn said he predicts the Titan Arum to flower around June 20. On the day it blooms, he said that the greenhouse will stay open until midnight.

The greenhouse manager also expects to have a large crowd in the near future. However, admission is free.

"I'm expecting 4,000 or more people to show up the two days this flower is open," Malehorn said.

Malehorn said the Titan Arum was obtained as a seed from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001. The seed was from the pollination of "Big Bucky" and "Mr. Magnificent" from the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Fla.

He said that as a member of the Association of Greenhouse Curators, he was asked if he would care for the plant. He enthusiastically agreed.

This is the first Titan Arum that Eastern has matured. Malehorn has cared for the plant by simply watering it and providing it with fertilizer since then.

Aside from this rare plant, Malehorn said that the Thut Greenhouse houses over 1,000 different plants.



Bob Bajek can be reached at 581-7942 or at rtbajek@eiu.edu.

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