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Contact:
David Bauman, Office of University Communications:(860) 486-3530 (office)
Richard Veilleux, Office of University Communications (860) 486-3530 (office)
(860) 546-6983 (home)
Matthew Opel (860) 486-4027 (office)
Clinton Morse(860) 486-8941(office)
titan arum webpage
UPDATE: (July 8, 7:45 a.m.)
For reasons as yet unclear, the flower only lasted 18 hours rather than the customary 48 hours.
It has not yet collapsed, and will continue to be on display Thursday & Friday, July 8 & 9, but only for our normal operating hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Viewing will end this Friday, July 9 at 4 p.m.; the Conservatory will be closed over the weekend and
all next week. It will reopen Monday, July 19.
STORRS, Conn. —- IT'S A BOY. AND A GIRL!!!
Ten years after planting of its seed, the Titan Arum (corpse flower) at the University of Connecticut, which includes both male and female flowers, has bloomed. The event began at about 8:30 this morning (July 6).
The spath — the two- to four-foot wide, visually attractive purple flower spreading from the middle of the five-foot tall, cone-shaped spadex - the smelly part — will continue to open for the next several hours. Once fully opened, the plant is expected to be in bloom for about two days.
The most intense odor emanating from the plant is expected to last for the next 6-12 hours.
This is the first time a titan arum has ever bloomed in New England, and the first time a bloom has appeared in the Northeast since 1937.
While the bloom lasts, the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Conservatory will be open to the public around the clock until it wilts, in approximately 48 to 72 hours. Admission is free.
The conservatory is located behind the George Safford Torrey Life Sciences Building on North Eagleville Road. Signs have been posted throughout campus directing people to the greenhouses.
The North Parking Garage, at the intersection of North Eagleville and Hillside Roads, and less than ½ mile from the greenhouses, is available for visitors.