The Vancouver Park Board and Bloedel Conservatory, with the help of social media, have named its titan arum, a.k.a. “corpse flower,” after the fictional Addams Family character Uncle Fester.
Vancouver’s celebrity plant du jour officially has a name.
The people have spoken, and they have chosen Uncle Fester as the moniker for the stinkiest thing in Vancouver outside of the local hockey team.
Titan arum, a.k.a. “corpse flower,” was renamed Wednesday after the Vancouver Park Board and Bloedel Conservatory sought feedback for the frightful flower through social media.
The name game now takes a back seat to the waiting game.
Initial reports Tuesday suggested the six-year-old plant was ready to bloom and that go time would play out 48 hours from then.
It’s a pretty big deal considering the world’s largest flower only blooms once every seven to 10 years.
But it wasn’t to be. At least not yet.
The watch surrounding what will be B.C.’s first corpse flower bloom continues and the conservatory is keeping its social media channels apprised of any progress.
The #vancouver weather forecast is predicting sunshine with a high probability of stench! Here's what Uncle Fester is looking like today. We will extend hours to 7am to 11pm for two days after it blooms so visitors can experience the sight and scent! #bloedelcorpseflower pic.twitter.com/5KHywZq8j2
— Bloedel Conservatory (@BloedelConserv) July 12, 2018
Online prognosticators — not to be confused with botanists or experts — are suggesting Sunday will be the big day.
Once Fester decides to pop, the conservatory will extends its hours (7 a.m. to 11 p.m.) for the two days following the birth so Vancouverites can revel in the splendour of smelling grim death.
Far be it from being fragrant, Fester’s essence will be the epitome of awful. The flower’s bloom is described as a blend of discarded diapers, hot garbage and rotting flesh.
It emits that smell to attract other members of nature’s misfit crew such as carrion beetles and insects that feed on rotting flesh.
Lovely.
Keep up to date on Fester’s comings and goings at vancouver.ca/corpseflower.
@JohnKurucz
