Visit SF State's blooming corpse flower

June 25, 2009 -- The public is invited to view -- and smell -- SF State's giant corpse flower this Sunday and Monday. The corpse flower, or Titan Arum, is famous for its death-like stench and its huge central flower structure. The plants, which grow in the wild only in Indonesian rainforests, flower on an unpredictable schedule, once enough energy has been accumulated, and is in bloom for only 24 to 48 hours.

The corpse flower which is expected to bloom on June 28 and 29.

The plant is growing in the University's new state-of-the-art greenhouse. The twelve-room facility houses cool humid, warm humid and arid plant collections and supports cutting-edge research in rain forest conservation, drought resistance, native California plants such as the Manzanita and pollination biology.

The greenhouse will be open to the public on Sunday June 28, 2 to 6 p.m. and Monday June 29, 2 to 6 p.m.

Tours will be available and admission is free.

The greenhouse is located north of Hensill Hall on SF State's main campus and can be found on the campus map at: http://www.sfsu.edu/~sfsumap/

-- Elaine Bible