MOBOT announces bloom of corpse flower, extended hours for viewing

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) – The Missouri Botanical Garden has announced extended viewing hours for visitors wishing to watch the bloom of one of their Corpse Flowers.

The flower, named Octavia, started blooming around 5:30 p.m. Sunday. The blooms, which create a fragrant smell the flower is named after, last less than 24 hours. Because of this, the garden will be open for free viewings from 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. in the Linnean House, where Octavia is.

Those with tickets to Chihuly Nights will be able to see Octavia with admission as well.

Octavia is the garden’s 13th corpse flower bloom.

This plant, Octavia, was one of four tubers gifted to the Garden from The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in 2008. Octavia has bloomed three previous times.

Earlier this year, Octavia split, creating two tubers. Her clone, yet to be named, will likely bloom in about 10 days.

Corpse flowers are listed as Endangered in the wild by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Species. They can take five to ten years to grow from seed until it is ready for its first bloom.

For more information visit: www.mobot.org/corpseflower

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