Corpse Flower: Emerson Chen's journal

Sophomore conservatory volunteer Emerson Chen is exploring botany through his work in the conservatory. (Debbie Aldridge/UC Davis photo)

Emerson Chen puts passion into plants this summer

(Editor's note: Emerson Chen is one of two students keeping an eye on the corpse flower's progress and reporting their findings to this site.

Davis, July 23 -- Perhaps I inherited from my parents, who are both medical doctors, my great passion for biology. That interest, passed on through good-old genetics or through years of family enculturation, has convinced me to pursue a career in the biological sciences. This exciting field is vast and full of possibilities, especially in today’s world.  Do I want to be a nutritionist?  A lab technician at a pharmaceutical company?  Working at the university?  Or a medical doctor, just like my parents?

Thus, after a wonderfully arduous first year at UC Berkeley, I decided to do a little exploring of my own this summer. Since I planned to stay home here at Davis, where I lived seven years before I went to college, I had to find internships or jobs in Davis. Thanks to the modern tool of Internet, I had no trouble finding a great internship at the UC Davis Web site: the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory. Just after I finished my finals, I came home to Davis and hurried to the conservatory the day after.

Experience with plants so far: Eating them

Little did I expect the experience to fill me with amazement and appreciation for the plant world. I did not have much experience with plants, except the fact that I eat them. Also, I expected to find rare, beautiful plants but did not expect to truly value how unique and interesting each of them is.

My personal favorite is the Echeveria, which astonishes people with its beautiful, pinkish, rose-like leaves. My typical day involves transplanting, watering, making cuttings and pruning plants.

Experimenting on Venus flytraps

Besides taking a good care of them, I am also doing an independent project on Venus flytraps. I am looking at how many times the traps typically open and close. Since the trap can only open and close at a limited number of times, it is helpful to know that limited number so that our conservatory staff can trigger the traps without exhausting the plant during public tours.

And, of course, one of the many joys is to delight someone with the dazzling plant world during these tours, whether by giving visitors a flytrap earring or letting them smell stinky flowers that attract flies.

Having the opportunity to see the amorphophallus bloom is yet another thrill. I have never seen, only heard about, those titans bloom before. Seeing and enjoying the "aroma" of the corpse flower will indeed be a wonderful yet stinky experience.

I am also interning at the Woodland Veterinary Hospital to explore what I want to do in the future. In any case, I enjoy helping out here at the conservatory and developing my interest for all kinds of plants. I know if I do not end up with a career in this field, I will have plenty of fascinating plants in my own little garden back yard.