Monday, November 21, 2005

Corpse Flower in DC

The U.S. Botanic Garden - across the street from the Capitol - is displaying a titan arum. It is also known as a corpse flower because of its putrid smelling, which resembles rotting flesh. The smell functions to attract carrion beetles that spread the flower's pollen. Apparently it also attracts crowds of people, who lined up to see it yesterday. A webcam of the flower and its visitors is available on the U.S. Botanic Garden's homepage.