Tagged: Missouri Botanical Garden

A second Amorphophallus titanum has bloomed at the Missouri Botanical Garden. It’s known as the titan arum – the flower can reach over six feet tall – or the “corpse flower” for its strong smell of rotting meat. The odor attracts flies, which help pollinate the plant.

The corpse flower can go for years without blooming. When it does, the flower lasts just a few days. Fewer than 160 are known to have bloomed worldwide, in the almost 120 years since the plant was identified by scientists in Sumatra.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture is launching a new initiative to try to create some buzz about bees.

Agriculture Director Jon Hagler says “The Great Missouri Buzz Off” aims to educate Missourians about bees and beekeeping.

“Whether it be honeybees, or native bees, they’re so vital to our agriculture’s success, and to our horticulture’s success, and we have such amazing resources here in our state,” Hagler said.