Also missed by me this week, (sick kid, grrrr) was the blooming of the Titan Arum up at UCONN Storrs. Somewhat of an oddity in the plant world, this giant flower from Sumatra smells like rotting flesh to attract pollinators, hence it's nick name.
Despite it's putrid smell the Titan Arum (it's botanical name is Amorphophallus Titanum, I leave that one up to you Latin language lovers) draws huge crowds to whatever university or botanical garden has one when they bloom. I've been wanting to see one for years, looks like this one is due to bloom again in 2014. With the bloom only lasting a day or two, the greenhouse at UCONN extended it's hours to accommodate all of the visitors, who knew there were so many plant geeks in my home state!
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