{"id":26872,"date":"2019-02-15T05:00:19","date_gmt":"2019-02-15T11:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=26872"},"modified":"2019-02-15T02:12:28","modified_gmt":"2019-02-15T08:12:28","slug":"apsus-corpse-flower-not-causing-a-stink-yet-but-it-will","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2019\/02\/15\/apsus-corpse-flower-not-causing-a-stink-yet-but-it-will\/","title":{"rendered":"APSU\u2019s corpse flower not causing a stink yet \u2013 but it will"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Austin Peay State University (APSU)&nbsp;<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-324279\" title=\"Austin Peay State University - APSU\" src=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Austin-Peay-State-University-APSU.jpg\" alt=\"Austin Peay State University - APSU\" width=\"250\" height=\"64\"\/><strong>Clarksville, TN<\/strong> &#8211; When the corpse flower blooms, it emits an intense, foul odor. \u201cWe\u2019re used to flowers with sweet smells that attract bees and butterflies,\u201d Dr. Carol Baskauf, Austin Peay State University (APSU) biology professor, said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe nickname for this plant is \u2018corpse flower\u2019 because it smells like rotting, dead meat. It stinks terribly,\u201d stated Baskauf.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_444479\" style=\"width: 490px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Austin-Peay-State-University\u2019s-corpse-flower-1.jpg\"  class=\"thickbox no_icon\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-444479\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-444479\" title=\"Austin Peay State University's towering corpse flower plant should bloom in four to six years. (APSU)\" src=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Austin-Peay-State-University\u2019s-corpse-flower-1-480x320.jpg\" alt=\"Austin Peay State University's towering corpse flower plant should bloom in four to six years. (APSU)\" width=\"480\" height=\"320\"\/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-444479\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Austin Peay State University&#8217;s towering corpse flower plant should bloom in four to six years. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>No bees and butterflies. No sweet smells.<\/p>\n<p>But for the students of Austin Peay State University, the corpse flower plant growing in the Sundquist Science Complex greenhouse might bring a sweet reward. If all goes well, they\u2019ll get the chance to see an already rare plant doing something even rarer \u2013 bloom.<\/p>\n<p>Though corpse flower blooms are becoming more common in cultivation, they\u2019re still rare. The world witnessed a spate of blooms in 2016, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/earth\/story\/20170119-lots-of-corpse-flowers-bloomed-in-2016-and-nobody-knows-why\" >according to the BBC<\/a>, when 32 plants in cultivation flowered.<\/p>\n<p>If Austin Peay\u2019s plant blooms, it will be a rare event, indeed.<\/p>\n<h3>What Is A Corpse Flower?<\/h3>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Titan Arum at the U.S. Botanic Garden - Time lapse\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zg28auR8nbI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Most people know the plant by the name corpse flower, but scientists call it <i>Amorphophallus titanum<\/i> or titan arum. The plant grows naturally only in Sumatra, Indonesia.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of what name you give it, the plant is a giant, and it has an odd lifecycle. The titan arum in the Austin Peay greenhouse looks like a tree. It isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s all part of one leaf,\u201d Baskauf said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s the lifecycle:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A titan arum seed grows into a small leaf and an underground tuber, similar to a potato.<\/li>\n<li>After 12-18 months, the leaf dies back.<\/li>\n<li>The plant goes dormant for three to six months.<\/li>\n<li>A new leaf appears, this one larger. The tuber below ground grows too.<\/li>\n<li>The cycle repeats several times (leaf grows, leaf dies back, leaf grows again, etc.) until a bloom emerges instead of a leaf. This usually happens 7-10 years into the plant\u2019s life.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[320right]It\u2019s the corpse flower bloom that\u2019s famous because they\u2019re difficult to predict, they happen rarely and, well, they smell bad.<\/p>\n<p>A <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1271\/bbb.100692\" >2010 scientific study<\/a> found that the corpse flower smells like a combination of cheese, sweat, garlic, decomposing meat, feces and rotting fish. The odor attracts pollinators like flies and carrion beetles.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBasically, it tricks the insects into coming to pollinate it,\u201d Baskauf said.<\/p>\n<h3>Austin Peay State University&#8217;s Big Surprise<\/h3>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Titan Arum at the U.S. Botanic Garden - Time lapse\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zg28auR8nbI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Baskauf received the plant last summer when Vanderbilt University greenhouse manager Jonathan Ertelt gave her a titan arum tuber (technically called a corm).<\/p>\n<p>Ertelt has had several titan arum plants at Vanderbilt, including one that is between two and four years from blossoming.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the nicest things about this occupation is if you have something nice, you share it,\u201d Ertelt, who has given four or five corms to friends, said. \u201cSomeone shared the seeds with me. We don&#8217;t have the room to grow them all to maturity, so after growing them for several years we started to share them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>[320left]Baskauf recalled getting the plant: \u201cIt was just this little, tiny thing, a white tip sticking out from the soil.\u201d In the soil, though, was a 10-pound tuber.<\/p>\n<p>She kept the plant in her office, and it didn\u2019t do much at first.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was afraid at first I had killed it,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then it started growing.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Students Nudge The Giant Along<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_444480\" style=\"width: 490px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Austin-Peay-State-University\u2019s-corpse-flower-2.jpg\"  class=\"thickbox no_icon\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-444480\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-444480\" title=\"Austin Peay State University's corpse flower plant grew several feet between August and December. (APSU)\" src=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Austin-Peay-State-University\u2019s-corpse-flower-2-480x320.jpg\" alt=\"Austin Peay State University's corpse flower plant grew several feet between August and December. (APSU)\" width=\"480\" height=\"320\"\/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-444480\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Austin Peay State University&#8217;s corpse flower plant grew several feet between August and December. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The plant started growing in October when it was the length of a person\u2019s hand. By Nov. 6, it was the length of chemistry senior Daisia Frank\u2019s arm from her elbow to the tips of her fingers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe weren\u2019t expecting much, but it started growing, and I was like, \u2018Um, is it supposed to be growing like this?\u201d Frank, who has worked with Baskauf for four years, said.<\/p>\n<p>[320right]The plant was a full arm\u2019s-length tall about a week later. By the end of November, it was growing 3-4 inches a day. And by the end of the fall semester, the plant was so tall, the students couldn\u2019t measure it anymore.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve seen videos of people taking care of these, they\u2019re standing on ladders,\u201d said mathematics sophomore Erik Brooks, who worked with Baskauf last semester. \u201cWhen I heard she had a corpse flower, I knew about how big they can grow, I didn\u2019t realize how fast they grew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Other students who have helped Baskauf are Stephen Thrasher, Lydia Deason and Annie Lindsey. Members of the Austin Peay Physical Plant also have helped to keep the greenhouse temperatures regulated for the tropical plant.<\/p>\n<h3>When Does The Big Event Arrive?<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_444481\" style=\"width: 490px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Austin-Peay-State-University\u2019s-corpse-flower-4.jpg\"  class=\"thickbox no_icon\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-444481\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-444481\" title=\"Austin Peay State University's corpse flower is the offspring of plants at Ohio State University. (APSU)\" src=\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Austin-Peay-State-University\u2019s-corpse-flower-4-480x320.jpg\" alt=\"Austin Peay State University's corpse flower is the offspring of plants at Ohio State University. (APSU)\" width=\"480\" height=\"320\"\/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-444481\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Austin Peay State University&#8217;s corpse flower is the offspring of plants at Ohio State University. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The flowering of a corpse flower is difficult to predict. Blooms usually happen when the plant is 7-10 years old, and scientists don\u2019t know for sure if a plant is blooming until a new shoot comes up after dormancy and develops a flower spike.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven when the flower spike is very close to full size and ready to open, it can be hard to say until one sees the spathe leaf starting to unfurl in a particular way that the entire inflorescence is definitely starting to open,\u201d Ertelt said. \u201cI would guess the plant Austin Peay is four or five years from flowering.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He hopes the biggest titan arum at Vanderbilt will bloom two to four years from now.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m hoping the freshmen who are coming through will get to see it by the time they graduate,\u201d Ertelt said.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe next fall\u2019s freshmen will see one of their own blossom at Austin Peay.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[470center]<\/p>\n<h3>Titanic Facts About The Plant<\/h3>\n<p>The titan arum at Austin Peay is the offspring of two plants (named Jesse and Woody) at Ohio State University. Here are interesting titan arum facts from Ohio State team:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Titan arum is the largest flowering structure on Earth. The bloom typically grows to 6-8 feet tall.<\/li>\n<li>The plant produces the largest leaf on the planet; it can reach 20 feet high.<\/li>\n<li>The flower is open only 48 hours and uses its stench to attract pollinators like flies and carrion beetles.<\/li>\n<li>The bloom produces its own heat to help spread the odor, reaching about the same temperature as humans maintain.<\/li>\n<li>The plant typically needs to be 7-10 years old and the tuber needs to weigh at least 35 pounds before it will blossom.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Learn More<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>For more about the Austin Peay Department of Biology, visit <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.apsu.edu\/biology\/\" >https:\/\/www.apsu.edu\/biology\/<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Here\u2019s an interesting article to help you learn about the titan arum lifecycle: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.museums.cam.ac.uk\/blog\/2017\/10\/05\/an-interview-with-titus\/\" >https:\/\/www.museums.cam.ac.uk\/blog\/2017\/10\/05\/an-interview-with-titus\/<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The U.S. Botanic Garden had three corpse flowers bloom in 2017. Read more here: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usbg.gov\/three-corpse-flowers-bloomed-usbg-2017\" >https:\/\/www.usbg.gov\/three-corpse-flowers-bloomed-usbg-2017<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Austin Peay State University (APSU)&nbsp; Clarksville, TN &#8211; When the corpse flower blooms, it emits an intense, foul odor. \u201cWe\u2019re used to flowers with sweet smells that attract bees and butterflies,\u201d Dr. Carol Baskauf, Austin Peay State University (APSU) biology professor, said. \u201cThe nickname for this plant is \u2018corpse flower\u2019 because it smells like rotting, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[23850,23,6367,23153,7207,10150,262,10884,512,825,33127,33129,33128,30182,7996,33130,1020],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4xGYI-6Zq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26872"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26872"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26872\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26873,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26872\/revisions\/26873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}