Crowds gathered these past few days at the Bloedel Conservatory in Vancouver to smell a perhaps once in a lifetime flower. The flowers' smell is similar to that of rotting flesh or hot garbage, so why would sooo many people come out to smell such a repugnant odor? Well that is probably due to its rarity, simplistic beauty and size.
The Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus Titanum) and affectionately named "Uncle Fester" by the conservatory, is an incredibly rare and exotic flower with a very slow growth rate and only blooms once every 7 to 10 years. This beautiful yet stinky flower can grow to around 3 meters in height and its unfurling flower only lasts 1 to 2 days so its quite a sight to behold while it lasts.
The smell is due to the various chemicals released by the spadix (seeding center) which includes dimethyl trisulfide (like limburger cheese), dimethyl disulfide, trimethylamine (rotting fish), isovaleric acid (sweaty socks), benzyl alcohol (sweet floral scent), phenol (like Chloraseptic), and indole (like feces). What a great mix of scents...bleh. The stench is designed to attract a whole slew of insects including carrion beetles and flesh flies which are active as pollinators. The insects crawl into the open bloom at the base of the flower, hopefully while carrying pollen from other Titan flowers, and deposit it amongst the female flowers which bloom at night. The insects are then trapped till morning inside the Spade until the male flowers bloom where the pollen rubs off on the insects for them to fly away and hopefully pollinate another Titan flower. And thus the life cycle continues.
This is the first time that a Corpse flower has ever bloomed in British Columbia so quite a hype has been build around the blooming. Monday was its peak blooming day with lines as long as 5hours to catch a glimpse! the flower is starting to die down now and has closed up but is still a sight to behold so if you want to see it while you can, go now! Plus added bonus, no lines!
While you are there also don't forget the check out the rest of the Bloedel Conservatory and surrounding park of Queen Elizabeth Park which is absolutely spectacular and one of my favorite spots in Vancouver. The conservatory is home to many exotic and beautiful tropical flowers and greenery and is inter-spaced with waterfalls and koi ponds throughout. There are also many different species of birds that are free to flow around the dome so its a delight for all ages.
Queen Elizabeth Park has spectacular views of the city of Vancouver from its peak. You can also walk around the many quarry gardens bellow and enjoy the beautiful, and FREE, gardens and waterfalls.
Its also home to an upper class restaurant with spectacular views of not only the city but the gardens bellow. The gardens are also home to some beautiful sculptures including the famous love locks sculpture, which encourages the public to participate and the traditional love locks phenomenon but in a safe environment that doesn't wreck city property. Here you can 'lock your love' onto the sculpture ensuring that you and your partner stays together and that you will one day visit the spot again to celebrate your love.
The Bloedel Conservatory and gardens are an interesting and beautiful place to visit all year round. Its also extremely affordable at around $8.50 per adult. They open from around 8am to 5pm in winter and 8am to 10pm in summer so its a fantastic place to enjoy, and being indoors, its and especially great day out on those frequent rainy Vancouver days.
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