Mount Holyoke’s Corpse Flower Blooms Again, Drawing Crowds with Its Foul Odor
Crowds flocked to Mount Holyoke College’s Talcott Greenhouse in South Hadley, Massachusetts, to witness the rare bloom of a corpse flower nicknamed “Pangy.” The Amorphophallus titanum, native to Sumatra, is renowned for its infrequent blooming cycle and powerful scent resembling rotting flesh, which attracts pollinators like flies and beetles. This marks the plant's second bloom at the college since 2023. Visitors described the odor variously as akin to decaying eggs, dead birds, or stinky diapers, yet many found the towering, deep purple inflorescence visually striking despite the smell. Tom Clark, the garden’s director, explained that the overwhelming scent serves a crucial evolutionary purpose. The event highlighted the greenhouse's role as a educational resource, engaging the public with plant diversity and adaptation. Enthusiasts traveled significant distances to catch the fleeting spectacle, which lasts only a few days before withering, though the plant itself survives underground for future blooms.
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Mount Holyoke’s Corpse Flower Blooms Again, Drawing Crowds with Its Foul Odor
Crowds flocked to Mount Holyoke College’s Talcott Greenhouse in South Hadley, Massachusetts, to witness the rare bloom of a corpse flower nicknamed “Pangy.” The Amorphophallus titanum, native to Sumatra, is renowned for its infrequent blooming cycle and powerful scent resembling rotting flesh, which attracts pollinators like flies and beetles. This marks the plant's second bloom at the college since 2023. Visitors described the odor variously as akin to decaying eggs, dead birds, or stinky diapers, yet many found the towering, deep purple inflorescence visually striking despite the smell. Tom Clark, the garden’s director, explained that the overwhelming scent serves a crucial evolutionary purpose. The event highlighted the greenhouse's role as a educational resource, engaging the public with plant diversity and adaptation. Enthusiasts traveled significant distances to catch the fleeting spectacle, which lasts only a few days before withering, though the plant itself survives underground for future blooms.
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