A few months back I went to the UC Davis greenhouses to see a rare Corpse Flower bloom. It's the picture at the top of the blog. It is from Indonesia and is the largest single flower on earth, blooming for only 48 hours before going dormant. They bloom once every 2-7 years, producing a giant, tree-like leaf in the intervening time.
They had the place open most of the night, as it has a stench to attract flies at night to pollinate it. It was like dead mammal, that was warm and sitting out for a while. Quite a contrast to the beauty below, huh?
This is the stalk of the tree-leaf:
This crimson just screams meat, no?
The actual flower that is pollinated is down at the very bottom, see the yellow specks?
I love that they call this thing the spadix. Fun word. It was the part emanating the heat and smell.
The base:
I then checked out what else was hanging around the greenhouses:
Hibiscus:
Chocolate flowers (tiny):
Turn into cocoa pods:
These are Cycads, a family of plants most ancient. They formed the forests of the dinosaur period, and reproduce using weird cone things:
Ferns:
Orchids:
Top of a pitcher plant:
And I have no idea what these are, but they look super pretty:
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