Corpse Flower: Annie Dubrovskaya's journal

How Ernesto will help Tabatha conceive

By Annie Dubrovskaya

Davis, Aug. 6 -- To ensure pollination of the corpse flower in cultivation, scientists are required to assume the roles of its Sumatran pollinators.  They must do the work of beetles, flies and sweat wasps.

The corpse flower’s unique heat generated aroma and meat-red coloration attracts unusual pollinators in the wild tropical forests of Sumatra. 

	This closeup of the base of a flowering stalk shows, from top to bottom, the base of the spadix, followed by a ring of male flowers releasing their pollen. At the bottom is a ring of female flowers with darkened tips revealing that they are no longer receptive. (Ernesto Sandoval, 2003 photo)

Davis biological diversity being a bit different, the plant needs special help to ensure pollination.  One-year-old pollen, frozen from a bloom at Cal State Fullerton, will be used by the conservatory staff to pollinate Tabatha.

I can’t wait to see Ernesto, the curator, in his scary beetle get-up helping Tabatha conceive with pollen from Fullerton’s Tiffy the Titan! That will be a combination of artificial insemination and Fullerton/Davis genetics.

Tiffy bloomed at Fullerton in May 2003 and was the first flower that year to bloom in Southern California. Tabatha’s pollen will also be stored for future use and may one day help another Amorphophallus titanum plant make babies.

The pollen is first collected as it is shed, then stored in powdered non-fat milk and finally frozen for future pollination.

For more on Tiffy, here's a story from the Associated Press.