Morty Jr, Wednesday, and Pugsley the Corpse Plants are on display.
July 11, 2022 - Morty Jr. Bloomed and closed within 24 hours!
Wednesday and Pugsley sprouted into leaves and are still growing strong. Visit them and see for yourself before they become dormant!
Included with Regular Admission
Members and Kids under 2 are FREE!
In early July 2014, the Botanical Gardens acquired three Amorphophallus titanum corms named Morty, Morticia, and Fester. Morty bloomed immediately and another named Morticia grew a leaf. Since then, the Botanical Gardens’ family of Corpse Plants has grown and have had a series of leafings and bloomings. Fester divided into four parts in 2021 creating Morty Jr., Wednesday, and Pugsley. Three of our Corpse Plants are currently leafing, and on display in our Palm Dome. Come visit them before they become dormant!
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Corpse plants (their common name), are native to the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia and are famous for their horrible smell, like rotting flesh, while in bloom. Corpse plants can bloom to flowers every 6-10 years, making it a rare sight to see and smell. When they are not blooming they send up enormous leaf structures to collect energy to bloom again in the future. Unfortunately, the leaf structure has no offensive smell.
Morty Jr.- July 3, 2022
When the first growth appears, it can be hard to predict if the plant will become a leaf or flower. At this stage it can grow several inches per day and will produce a leaf or flower within several weeks of its first growth. In the early stages of growth, a flower can look wider at the bottom and a leaf can appear uniformly shaped. Morty Jr. showed signs of growth about 2 weeks ago and is about 2 feet tall. Morty Jr. will be on public display inside the Botanical Gardens conservatory along with siblings, Wednesday and Pugsley, who are also showing signs of growth, but have not reached rapid growth.
Leaf structures can grow up to 20 feet tall and 16 feet across. Leaf structures will last many months until the corm has gathered enough energy. The leaf structure then dies off and it will go dormant for a few months. This process repeats until it has enough stored energy for a bloom.
When flowering, corpse plants are famous for their horrible smell, like rotting flesh. Corpse flowers can bloom every 6-10 years, making it a rare sight to see and smell! When it blooms, the flower and stench will only last 36-48 hours.
Amorphophallus titanum is in the Arum family. The leaf comes from the part of the plant called a corm. A corm is an underground tuber, a swollen plant stem that is a storage organ for plants.
Morty and Family's Twitter - @Mortystinks
Use hashtags #CorpseFlower and #MortyStinks when posting!
A Corpse Flower's Blooming Process
WGRZ visits Morty on June 6, 2018
