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| "Scarlet" the Corpse Flower, Conservatory of Flowers Golden Gate Park, July 5, 2023 The tall plant behind the flower that looks like a slender tree is actually a very stout leaf that has sprouted from a corpse plant's subterranean corm. The photosynthesizing leaf will nourish the corm, then die back to make room for the rising blossom. |
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| The Conservatory is usually closed on Wednesdays, and we thought we were out of luck until they announced mid-morning today that they would open for a few hours at noon. We were glad to have another opportunity since the bloom, which only happens every 2-3 years, will almost certainly fade by tomorrow. |
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| We waited in line for about 40 minutes to get an in-person look at this native of the Sumatran jungle, and after ogling the exquisite corpse to our heart's content, we continued to enjoy the many other interesting and beautiful plants within the greenhouse. (Afterward we hit up the Hometown Creamery). |
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| The tall spadix is covered with pollen-generating male flowers, and the female flowers are near the bottom. After pollination by flies and beetles, the fruits take up to a year to mature, and are then eaten by birds which disperse the seeds. I held my camera as high as I could but couldn't get an angle any deeper into the bowl. We were allowed to touch a preserved sheet of the red spathe from a prior bloom, and it felt almost tough yet supple enough to be used to make clothing. |
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