http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wium/local-wium-911066.mp3
Macomb, IL – Western Illinois University Greenhouse Gardener Jeff Hillyer is waiting to see if he successfully pollinated the Titan Arum plant that bloomed last week.
The Titan Arum is nicknamed "The Corpse Flower" because of the foul odor it gives off when it blooms. It's rare for the plants to bloom - they can go more than a decade between blooms.
Hillyer has seen two of the plants in his greenhouse bloom in the past two months. He collected pollen from the Titan Arum that bloomed in May and used it on the plant that bloomed June 29.
"I dusted a little pollen around down there and hopefully some of the female flowers took hold," Hillyer said.
In the days before June 29, Hillyer and others in the community anxiously waited for the Titan Arum to bloom. Hillyer is now waiting to see if his pollination effort was successful.
"This is basically a new experience for me so I have no idea what I'm going to be looking for," Hillyer said.
He said the first Titan Arum closed up a lot faster after blooming than the second one did. In addition, the second one was still standing pretty tall several days after the bloom.
Hillyer believes it could take eight months to a year for the fruit to develop and mature in the plant. He said within each fruit there could be one or two seeds, which he could share with botanical gardens or research greenhouses at other universities.
There are four Titan Arum plants at the WIU Greenhouse. Hillyer said he does not have room for any more Titan Arums, which take up a lot of space.