Corpse Flower Sprout Blooms at Chicago Botanic Garden

The corpse flower known as Sprout has bloomed at the Chicago Botanic Garden – an event that can normally take the species a decade to occur.

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Tim Pollak, outdoor floriculturist at the Chicago Botanic Garden, measures Sprout's height of 57.75 inches early Tuesday morning. (Chicago Botanic Garden) Employees say Sprout, a titan arum plant, began to open around 8 p.m. Monday and smelled the worst early Tuesday morning. While the plant’s notorious odor has since mellowed, the flower will be in bloom for at least another 24 hours before it begins to wilt.

Garden staff cut a "window" into Sprout's spathe Tuesday morning in order to pollinate the plant by hand.

To mark the occasion, the CBG will extend its hours on Tuesday night, remaining open until 2 a.m. – the wee hours of Wednesday morning. It will reopen Wednesday at 8 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. A reduced rate of $10 for parking is available on Tuesday night after 7 p.m. Regular parking fees apply on Wednesday starting at 8 a.m. Get more information about parking fees here.

The garden put Sprout on display two weeks ago in anticipation of the plant's bloom. 

Sprout the corpse flower began to bloom Monday night. It's the second plant of its kind to successfully bloom at the Chicago Botanic Garden. (Chicago Botanic Garden)

Sprout is one of 13 corpse flowers in the CBG's collection. Also on display is Alice, a corpse flower currently bearing fruit, and a 6-foot-tall leaf of a corpse flower.

Follow Evan Garcia on Twitter: @EvanRGarcia


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April 21: If all goes as planned, the Chicago Botanic Garden is about to get very stinky in the next few days. That’s because Sprout, a titan arum–also known as a corpse flower–is very close to blooming.


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