ITotD: Rarely Blooming Plants / The Titan Arum lily, the Kurinji plant, and the Talipot palm | ![]() |
Rarely Blooming Plants / The Titan Arum lily, the Kurinji plant, and the Talipot palm Posted: 21 Nov 2016 12:00 AM PST by Morgen JahnkeAlthough many years have passed since then, there are certain things I can remember clearly about the year 1986. That was the year of the World’s Fair, Expo ‘86, in Vancouver, British Columbia, the year of the space shuttle Challenger disaster, and the year that Halley’s Comet (or Comet Halley) made its closest approach to the sun since 1910. I remember being impressed at the time that I was going to witness an event that had last occurred so long in the past, before my grandparents were born, before the large-scale wars of the 20th century had taken place. In relation to the human lifespan, 76 years is a long time. When the comet finally did appear, it was not as spectacular as I’d hoped, but I didn’t want to miss it, knowing that it would not appear again until 2061, when I would most likely not be around to see it. Although there are processes that occur on a time scale far too large for humans to observe (such as evolution and geological changes), we have a fascination for somewhat more common—but still extremely rare—natural events. They are not limited to the world of astronomy, but appear, for example, in the botanical world as well. In particular, consider the case of the Titan Arum lily, the Kurinji plant, and the Talipot palm, all of which bloom so infrequently that seeing them in bloom could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The Stinking Lily Since then, many other botanical gardens have repeated these successes, and have allowed more people to witness the incredible transformation that the Titan Arum undergoes as it blooms. One of the most notable things about the process is how large the bloom becomes; although it can grow larger in the wild, the tallest bloom produced in cultivation occurred in Stuttgart, Germany, in 2005, and was measured at nine feet, six inches (about 3 meters). The other especially striking characteristic of the Titan Arum bloom is its distinctive smell. Called bunga bangkai (“corpse-flower”) in Indonesian, when in bloom the Titan Arum emits a strong smell often compared to rotting flesh. Although it may put off human observers, the purpose of the smell is to lure in carrion-eating beetles and flesh flies (those that breed in flesh and produce maggots) to pollinate the bloom. Purple Days When the Kurinji are in bloom, the vast expanses of flowering plants produce a unique effect, a sea of blue and purple as far as the eye can see. This amazing sight is made all the more memorable by the fact that it occurs only once every 12 years. Children who see the Kurinji bloom will not see it again until they are grown; in fact, one tribe in the area traditionally calculates their ages according to how many of the flowerings they have seen. While this rare event is a cherished part of the cultural and spiritual lives of local residents, it may not be around forever. The grasslands where the Kurinji grows are increasingly threatened by the encroachment of non-native species, such as wattle, acacia, pine, and eucalyptus trees, planted by British colonists in the 19th century to provide firewood. Vigorous efforts are underway to protect the vulnerable grasslands, but it remains to be seen how much of the Kurinji habitat can be saved. Late Bloomer While the Talipot palm can grow to enormous heights during its lifetime, as high as 82 feet (25 meters), it becomes even taller when in bloom. It grows a large stalk at its top, between 20 and 26 feet (6–8 meters) long, which produces smaller branches carrying millions of flowers. The stalk, branches, and flowers of the Talipot palm, known jointly as an inflorescence, is the largest of any plant in the world (the Titan Arum lily has the largest unbranched inflorescence). Once the Talipot palm has flowered, it takes a year for the fruit to develop; it eventually produces thousands of round yellow-green fruit, each of which contains a single seed. After the fruit appears, the Talipot palm dies off. Flower Power Permalink • Email this Article • Category: Science & Nature More Information about Rarely Blooming Plants...There have been relatively recent bloomings of the Titan Arum at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers and the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. The Kurinji were most recently in bloom in 2006; the Los Angeles Times ran a comprehensive article in September 2006 about the phenomenon. For a photo of a flowering Talipot palm, see this article from the newspaper The Hindu. Articles on the Titan Arum, the Kurinji, and the Talipot palm can be found on Wikipedia. Related Articles from Interesting Thing of the Day℗ & © 2006, alt concepts. All rights reserved. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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