Viewing hours extended again for rare, smelly plant

The UW–Madison’s Botany Department has extended the viewing hours this week for the soon-to-blossom titan arum or “corpse flower.”

The public may view the plant, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in Greenhouse No. 8 behind Birge Hall, 430 Lincoln Drive. Botany volunteers estimate that 2,500 people viewed the plant during extended hours over the weekend.

The titan arum or “corpse flower,” noted for a malodorous stench given off by blooms that can have a diameter of as much as 4 feet, is exceedingly rare among cultivated plants. The nascent bloom at UW–Madison is the first in Wisconsin and may be only the 12th recorded U.S. bloom.

Botanists estimate that the bloom will occur later this week. The plant has grown another 3 inches since Sunday morning, bringing it to a height of nearly 8 feet.

Birge Hall is just south of Bascom Hall. The public may enter the building only through the front. Greenhouse No. 8 is accessible to people with disabilities. Wheelchairs are available.

No public parking is available on Bascom Hill. Nearby public parking includes the Grainger Hall garage outside the gated area (enter on Brooks Street), the lower level of the Lot 46 ramp (enter from Frances Street), Area 6 under Helen C. White Library on North Park Street, Lot 20 ramp on the north side of University Avenue between Charter Street and Randall Avenue, the Fluno Center ramp (enter from Frances Street), University Square (Lot 47) on West Johnson Street and the city’s Lake Street ramp.

The Amorphophallus Hot Line is (608) 262-2235. View the plant via the Web cam.