Corpse Flower "Musky" blooms at Mitchell Park Domes
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Thursday, July 21, The Mitchell Park Domes announced their Amorphophallus Titanum, Corpse Flower, affectionally called "Musky" bloomed.
"We've had three others bloom before so this definitely is the biggest one," said Mary Braunreiter, Horticulturalist of Tropical Dome at Mitchell Park Domes.
The flower, native to Sumatra, an island in Indonesia is considered rare and endangered.
"You'll see it maybe at a conservatory-like ours, or at a greenhouse or university, perhaps, and that's what makes it so rare, is that not just anyone can have it in their yards," said Braunreiter.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, there are fewer than 1,000 of these flowers in the wild; the plants' natural habitat is being overtaken by land redevelopment.
The flower has been growing at the Mitchell Park dome for more than five years, going through different stages of evolution.
"The corm is getting bigger and bigger and it's gaining more energy until it finally has enough energy to produce that flower," said Braunreiter.
The rare beauty is not just a sight for the eyes it’s also a smell for the nose.
"I mean, who wouldn’t want to smell it? I mean everyone's curious," said Chris Graham of Milwaukee, WI.
The flower is notorious for the smell it omits, compared to that of decomposing human flesh.
"It needs to be pollinated and the insects that pollinate it are carrying flies and beetles, so it has to smell like roadkill to in order to attract those insects," said Braunreiter.
The flower blooms every four to five years giving new meaning to flower power.
"Unbelievable, you look at the flower, and say wow this is something else, there is no flower like it, no flower as big as it, so it's pretty remarkable, " said Tim Goskowicz of Mosinee, WI.
"You think reflect you were doing last time it bloomed and it kind of gives you a sequence of time to kind of reflect back on and think about how far you came to see it now," said Graham.