FOUL FLOWER DAZZLES FANS, THEN CLOSES.Byline: Elizabeth Lee Staff Writer After a two-day dance with fame, the wildly popular ``corpse flower'' at the Huntington Botanical Gardens A botanical garden is a place where plants, especially ferns, conifers and flowering plants, are grown and displayed for the purposes of research, conservation, and education. withered with·ered adj. Shriveled, shrunken, or faded from or as if from loss of moisture or sustenance: "the battle to keep his withered dreams intact" Time. Adj. 1. and closed Tuesday - much to the dismay of visitors. ``I'm a little disappointed, actually,'' said Adam Jacobson, 17, of South Pasadena South Pasadena (păs'ədē`nə), city (1990 pop. 23,936), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1888. Medical supplies, clothing, and transportation and electronic equipment are manufactured. . ``I thought it was going to be more spectacular . . . and I can't really smell it. I thought it was going to smell like rotting meat.'' Indeed, the thousands who came to the Huntington expecting their noses to be offended by the Amorphophallus titanum caught only a faint whiff of the foul scent. Flower power helped attract 12,091 visitors Tuesday - shattering the normally-serene museum's attendance record, set earlier this year. Officials lost count of how many visitors came Monday, and closed early to handle the crush. Despite the flower's wilting wilting dehydration of plants to the point where the leaves lose their turgor and hang limply. Can happen in living plants which later return to normal, or to cut plants before they are fed out. Thought to be a factor in increasing toxicity. , the Huntington is expecting more crowds today. They will keep the plant on display, once again opening early at 9 a.m. Tuesday afternoon, the flower's sheath sheath (sheth) a tubular case or envelope. arachnoid sheath the continuation of the arachnoidea mater around the optic nerve, forming part of its internal sheath. of petals - called a spathe - had folded in around its spadix and turned blackish at the edges. Soon, the flower will collapse entirely, caving in under its weight. Museum officials had expected the flower to remain in bloom at least until Wednesday, but said Tuesday they weren't surprised it had started wilting. As temperatures rose above 90 degrees Tuesday, water stations were set up along the line for visitors, along with parasols and umbrellas to hand to sun-beaten patrons. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Large crowds wait in line to view the blooming of the ``corpse flower'' at the Huntington gardens in San Marino San Marino, city, United States San Marino (săn mərē`nō), residential city (1990 pop. 12,959), Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1913. Of interest is the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. . Walt Mancini/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion