Hurry! Stinky 'Audrey' Will Finish It's Bloom Today

At Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park

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It smells like a dead rodent and is now is full bloom. Audrey, the rare and stinky corpse plant that has bloomed in the U.S. fewer than 60 times since 1939, is reaching its full bloom cycle right now. The public can view Audrey today Sunday, March 7 from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. in the community meeting room at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park, located at 2400 South Scenic Avenue across from Horton Smith Golf Course.

'Everyone needs to hurry over to the park because the showy bloom of the corpse plant ens today,' said Friends of the Garden president George Deatz. The latest update can always be found at www.friendsofthegarden.org and the 2010 Area Garden Event Calendar.

Named 'Audrey' after the voracious and fast-growing plant in the 1960 rock musical, 'The Little Shop of Horrors,' Amorphophallus titanum grows in the wild only on the island of Sumatra and blooms every six to ten years. Titanum is known for its erratic, lush growth and the putrid fragrance of its blossoming flower that, Friends of the Garden member William Roston says, 'smells like a dead rat and could make a fly vomit.'

Roston, an osteopath who practices in Forsyth and serves as primary garden designer for the Friends of the Garden, brought the 35-pound tuber to Springfield in November 2009. It's been dormant until about six or seven weeks ago when it started growing. . .and growing. For the past week, he's been 'babysitting Bill's baby' at the park, noting its growth and answering visitors' questions about what-he-calls 'the plant from Mars.'

'Certainly it's the superstar of the plant kingdom. Everything about it is dynamite,' said Roston. Added Deatz, 'this is quite an event for Springfield. It's a rare blooming flower with few on display in the U.S.'
About the Friends of the Garden: The volunteer organization has been active since 1998 in pursuing funding and encouraging interest in building the 12,700-square-foot Botanical Center now under construction in the 114-acre Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park, 2400 South Scenic Avenue. The facility is expected to be completed in September 2010. Tax-deductible annual memberships and contributions to the Friends of the Garden Growth and Maintenance Fund can be made to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks or sent to the group at P.O. Box 8566, Springfield MO 65801. The web site is www.friendsofthegarden.org

Directions: For a map with a marker directly over the exact building where the plant is being displayed, look here.