Amorphophallus remains a unique occupant in the world of plants, and visitors to the Chicago Botanic Garden recently experienced the fascinating bloom cycle with the titan arum Sprout. However, there is an additional denizen of the Araceae (a.k.a. Aroid, a.k.a. Arum) family with rare and exceptional attributes, which can be seen blooming this very moment at … Continue reading This Amazing Plant Changes Gender from Year to Year
On Tuesday, April 24, #CBGSprout raised a big stink at the Chicago Botanic Garden! Our day included these snapshots of the early morning visitors to the rare phenomenon of a corpse flower in full bloom. We chatted with the early birds and met some “regulars”—visitors who had come by to meet Spike, the Garden’s first titan arum on … Continue reading Ooooh-ooh That Smell…
The Chicago Botanic Garden is on #TitanWatch. That’s right: if you visit the Garden’s Semitropical Greenhouse, you will see Sprout, the latest corpse flower from the Garden’s collection of 13 titan arums to begin a bloom cycle. You might remember Spike and Alice in 2015: Spike failed to bloom but provided so much excitement; and Alice … Continue reading Ten Things to Know About Corpse Flowers
New! Relive the thrill of cheering on Spike and Alice with our creative line of richly scented candles. A great gift for Mother’s Day, anniversaries, birthdays, and all the special people in your life. Very Titan Berry gives new meaning to “fruit flavored.” It is very, very, very berry. Note, the scent may be too … Continue reading Stinkin’ Cool! New Designer Scents from Botanic Candle
Do you see something pushing up from the ground that looks like the claws of some creature in a zombie movie? Does it smell bad too? Happy spring! This charmer is the first native wildflower of a Chicago spring: the skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus). It’s a biologically intriguing, ecologically brilliant prelude to the wildflower riot about … Continue reading Skunk Cabbage: Gross and Cool Herald of Spring in Chicago
