A Fascinating Paradox Occurring on Sac State’s Campus: “A Living Gallery Show: The Blooming Corpse”

“The Blooming Corpse” is the biology department’s first living gallery show and is being held in Sequoia Hall.

Michael Fong, Sacramento State’s greenhouse manager, is a key component to this display and has been present during this process as the blooming period draws near.

“Once it becomes a dark red-almost a maroon, it is ready to bloom; right now we are estimating 4-5 days,” Fong said.

Due to the recent growth of the plant, the Corpse Flower has been moved to room 105 of Sequoia Hall and will remain there throughout the remainder of the blooming. Currently, staff is working together to create a live feed for people to watch the flower bloom online.

The Amorphophallus titanum plant was originally found in Sumatra, Indonesia in 1878 and brought to the U.S. in 1937.

In Indonesia, it is known as the “bunga bangkai,” which means “Corpse Flower.” This is the subject of the living gallery being exhibited.

The Corpse Flower gets its name because of its stench that smells similar to rotting flesh, which is released during its bloom.

The flower is especially unique because it typically only blooms every 7-15 years, and its blooming window is only 48 hours.

The Corpse Flower in Sequoia Hall is 20 years old, and this will be its first bloom. This plant has been in the green house since 2005 when Sac State received it from UC Davis.

For the past month, the flower has slowly been getting ready to open. Its actual blooming is predicted to occur sometime this week.

Evan Hanson works in the greenhouse on campus and helped with the setup of the live gallery in Sequoia Hall.

“This is its first time blooming, so it’s kind of like a baby,” Hanson said. “I hope it makes students more interested in plant biology and aware of the diverse collection that we have on campus.”

The corpse flower is part of the Araceae family of plants, which includes the calla lily, anthurium, philodendron and monstera.

Virtualherbarium.org said, “[The corpse flower] is ranked as the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world.”

The flower can grow taller than 10 feet in height.

The flower is hermaphroditic, which means it contains both female and male reproductive organs.

The flowers are female and the florets are male. The female part of the flower opens first, and typically by the time the male component opens, the window for fertilizing is no longer open. This relationship between the two genders is why the flower so rarely sets seeds.

Crystal Zamora, a senior at Sac State, was also part of the set up for the live gallery.

“Not many of the students get to see what we have to offer within the greenhouses, so I am very excited that we are able to share this rare occurrence with everyone,” Zamora said.

The “Living Gallery Show: The Blooming Corpse” and the corpse flower can be found in the room 105 of Sequoia Hall this week.

Updated 3/14/15 1:54 p.m. to reflect Michael Fong’s correct title