Lesson in flower biology really rots
This attraction really stinks! The stench like death drew excited visitors to the Franklin Park Zoo yesterday. It was Pugsley, a 5-foot1-inch-tall Amorphophallus titanum, better known as the corpse flower. “It smells like a dead animal, or maybe rotten cabbage,” said Kathleen Bateman, 41, of West Roxbury. Her daughter, 7-year-old Chelsea, said the flower’s odor reminded her of the dead mouse her snake once killed but did not eat. As a science teacher, Bateman has an interest in corpse flowers, and saw the zoo’s previous corpse flower, Morticia, that was on display at the Franklin Park Zoo when it bloomed in 2012. Pugsley is in full smelly bloom, a phenomenon that happens only every two to 10 years. This is Pugsley’s first blossoming since the zoo acquired the plant five years ago. The bloom can only be enjoyed — if you like that kind of punishment — for a quick 24 to 48 hours. Corpse flower fans have been following the growth of the flower on Twitter — #bloomwatch — and the zoo’s Facebook page over the past several weeks. Jin Kim, 25, of Belmont, saw that the flower officially had bloomed and made the trip down to see — and smell — the natural wonder. “It smells like a dirty bathroom, or a dumpster or something dead,” Kim said. “But it is beautiful.” Franklin Park Zoo Director of Marketing and Communications Brooke Wardrop said, “The reaction is more of a curiosity. People are amazed by the scent — it’s so unusual. “We are excited to see the interest and to see people learning.”