Word: amorphophallus
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...specimen of the world's largest known flower last week bloomed in the U. S. for the first time. Custodian of this prodigy, whose scientific name is Amorphophallus titanum and which is called krubi by the islanders of its native Sumatra, was the New York Botanical Garden in The Bronx. Only five times before had Amorphophallus titanum bloomed outside the Sumatra jungle-twice in London's Kew Gardens, once in Holland, once in Germany, once in a botanical garden in Java. During last week's excitement Assistant Curator Wendell Holmes Camp observed that The Bronx...
...Amorphophallus titanum is supposed not to be self-fertilizing, to require pollen from another plant. Its smell would therefore serve the purpose of attracting carrion-eating insects, carrying pollen on their legs. Last week newshawks, photographers, a water-colorist and many a botanist braved the gagging odor to watch the spectacle at close range. One botanist stood on, a stepladder, peered down into the spathe where he descried, at the base of the spadix, rows of male, female and hermaphroditic flowers...
...plant which they prepared for a pickling process involving chromic and acetic acid, alcohol, xylol and melted paraffin. The pickled pieces will be sliced .005 millimetres thin with a microtome, stained for study under the microscope. One thing the scientists especially hope to learn is the mechanism of Amorphophallus titamim's titanic stench...
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