Rare blooming attracts public's eye
Kristina Peters/Campus Reporter
Issue date: 6/24/08 Section: News
|
Once the plant blooms, it contains fruit that have seeds for reproduction.
Steven Malehorn, manager of the greenhouse, said about 3,000 people have visited the plant since the word got out. The plant bloomed around 1:25 p.m. Saturday and started closing at 5 a.m. Sunday.
It normally takes five to seven years for the plant to bloom and during its vegetative growth, the plant produces one leaf that can reach 20 feet high and 15 feet wide.
"One thousand came through Saturday," Malehorn said.
Before entering the greenhouse, visitors are asked to sign a guest book where they write down their name and where they are from. Some people are driving extensive distances to see the plant.
"Some alumni drove about five hours," Malehorn said.
Jana Messer, from Charleston, took pictures by the plant Monday afternoon.
"I missed the big bloom, so I'm a little disappointed," she said. "But, I'm still glad I came."
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.
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 and he enthusiastically agreed.
Word about the flower has spread, and an article the Journal Gazette/Times Courier printed appeared on The Associated Press Wire.
Janice Hunt, public information specialist, said the AP story could be seen on the Chicago Tribune and suburban Chicago Daily Herald's Web sites.
The flower has also caught the attention of TV and Radio stations.
Hunt said Champaign's TV station WCIA came down Monday and Champaign's radio station WILL did an interview with Malehorn that has appeared on national public radios.
Malehorn is posting updates and pictures on the Web site, www.eiu.edu/~biology/news/titan_arum.htm.
Kristina Peters can be reached at 581-7942 or at kmpeters2@eiu.edu.
The Daily Eastern News encourages on-topic, civil discussion on its articles posted online. It is our policy not to screen comments before they are posted or edit them after they are posted. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are off-topic, malicious, libelous or include excessive foul language. The DEN also reserves the right to turn off all comments on any story it deems necessary.
Comments violating copyright law will also be removed.
Users who repeatedly violate this policy will be banned from commenting.
If you have any questions on our comment policy or wish to report a comment that you feel violates these standards, please e-mail a link to the article to our Online Editor at DENNews.com@gmail.com.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 2
biologist
posted 6/24/08 @ 7:32 AM CST
As time goes by the energy stored accumulates and becomes strong enough? Kristina, you need a biology and/or a physics lesson.
Post a Comment