That Voodoo that YooDoo so Well

While on my recent trip to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum I also stopped in their little conservatory attached to the main building. It is full of all sorts of tropicals, and is a real pick-me-up when Minnesota is trying to decide if it will be winter or spring.

I forgot how wonderfully humid the conservatory is; it was almost a shock to the system. The above photo was taken at the door to the conservatory. If you look closely you'll see a bench half-way down the path on the left. I didn't even make it that far before my coat became unbearable.

There are many fun plants in this conservatory that I will talk about, but I want to focus on one particular plant for this post. Because on this Arboretum visit I met a Voodoo Bulb.

I was wandering about the room, blissfully snapping pictures, when I smelled it. "Ug, what smells?" It was a very unpleasant odor, like week-old roadkill. It was quite strong so I knew it was nearby. There were two ladies in the conservatory as well, and they also wondered what stunk. One lady, in fact, couldn't stand anywhere near the area. I was among various cacti and agave, which are not the likely suspects. Which plant is it? Then I saw it.

"Typhonium venosum - Voodoo Bulb"

That has to be it. And, being the plant geek that I am, what do I do? Lean down, stick my nose in the center of the thing and take a whiff. Yep, *cough* this is it! The weird thing is, the plant is across from the bench where I stopped to take off my coat. I had to walk by it when I came in. I never saw noticed smelled it until now. Weird.

So, now that the source of the smell has been located, time to admire it. In addition to being bizarre, this plant is really quite beautiful - the vase shape of the bulb, the gracefully-arching spadix, the deep purple, and especially the color of the spathe.

Too bad it has to smell like a dead animal. That fact put a thought in my head; I know of only one plant that smells like rotting flesh: the Corpse Flower. The Como Zoo Conservatory has one, but I've never seen it. Hmm, interesting thought.

As I moved around the table taking pictures of the bulb, the smell suddenly got worse. Then I saw that I was directly at the end of the spadix, which must be where the pollen - and source of the smell - is. Nasty.

Just then the caretaker of the conservatory came in. He saw I was studying the Voodoo Bulb and we started chatting. The first topic, naturally, was the smell. So I asked him if it was possibly related to the Corpse Flower. He affirmed that oh yes, all plants that smell like this are in the same family (Araceae) as the Corpse Flower. That got me thinking; if this little bulb (12 inches / 30.5 cm high) can put off such a strong odor, how much more pungent is a 5-foot / 1.5 meter tall Corpse Flower?! I'm not so sure I want to know anymore. (What am I saying? Of course I do!)

The Como Zoo's Corpse Flower.
This photo is from Thanland. Click the link the check out
the article, more photos, and a video.

The gentleman also said that he personally has two Voodoo Bulbs. Ah, a fellow plant geek! He also explained that the Voodoo Bulb (and all of its relatives) bloom for only one day out of the whole year, and that this particular bulb just opened that morning.

Well, wasn't it my lucky day?