Cadaver plant blooms in Wheatland County

Times Reporter        

 

A botanist’s dream plant is here in Wheatland County. Viggo Sorensen, a plant enthusiast, owns an amorphophallus konjac, and this year it has bloomed, which is a rare event.

Amorphophallus konjac is native to warm regions such as Malaysia and Indonesia, and can even be found growing in ditches in China. There are two breeds of the amorphophallus, the konjac and the titanum.The konjac, when it flowers, is a single bloom on a stalk, no leaves surrounding it. 

“It’s one of those plants you can grow it normally in your house forever and it never blooms, but it says on the internet somewhere that if it blooms then you have done something annoyingly right, either the water was warmer or the light was different or the soil was different,” said Sorensen. 

“We don’t know what was done right when you finally get one that blooms, but this bloom here will just knock you off your feet.”

The konjac first came to his family in the late 1940’s, early ‘50s. His aunt had met a sailor, whom she befriended. Before he was to set sail again he gave Sorensen’s aunt an amorphophallus konjac bulb to remember him by. Each year the bulb would sprout up into a single leaf tree, filled with numerous leaflets, but would never flower. Now, something Sorensen is doing right has made his plant flower for the past two years, and while it is unbelievable and a sight to behold, it comes at a cost. The plant smells strongly of rotting meat, a smell that can permeate an entire household. Fortunately, when the plant does bloom into a flower is only lasts for a week or less.

“It smells so bad this plant, it stinks. As beautiful and rare as this thing is it is the most stinking thing you ever smelled, thank God it only lasts three days with that smell,” said Sorensen. 

The konjac stalk was 28 inches, and the bloom measured at another 24 inches, and Sorensen said while it was growing the plant would gain three inches a day in height. One of the most interesting things about the plant is it grows from just a fairly small – in comparison to the plant size- bulb.

Approximately 10 years ago the Sorensen’s had donated a bulb to the Calgary Zoo botanical garden. They are waiting to hear if the plant was lost in the flood and if so they do plan to donate another bulb. 

Seeing, and smelling, the strangely beautiful flower can be a once in a lifetime opportunity.