An infamous flower bloom drew more than 2,000 visitors to a greenhouse at Austin Peay State University over the holiday weekend.
The event was the fleeting and enormous bloom of the titan arum — widely known as the “corpse flower.” It began to open in a flashy show of burgundy, with a rancid smell, on Friday afternoon. APSU added late-night and Fourth of July visiting hours because of the exceptionally rare opportunity.
Lines quickly formed.
“I packed eveyrone into the car and now we’re here,” said Meg Schlichter, an APSU alum from Clarksville. “I mean, it’s like a 6-foot-tall flower that smells bad. Who doesn’t want to see that. That’s awesome! Right!?”
The peak bloom is brief and infrequent. The plant can bloom every two years, but sometimes stays dormant for 10 years. It is the first bloom for this plant — nicknamed “Athena” by the university. A different corpse flower at the school, “Zeus,” bloomed in 2022 and 2024.
As for the smell, visitors on the first night found it mild.
“Kind of peppery,” said Schlichter. “Went in there and got a whiff and … not bad.”
Karen Meisch, dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, said the less pungent experience may have been because Athena is smaller than Zeus, providing less surface area for the smelly chemical reaction.
Meisch was among the faculty that stayed until 11 p.m. Thursday to receive visitors and answer questions.
“I love to see people get this excited about plants, about science, about biology,” she said. “We want to make sure that we’re accessible to people who want to learn.”
The university handed out “I saw Athena” stickers and livestreamed for several days. In addition to taking a deep inhale, the other essential when visiting was to snap a few photos, Meisch said.
“Who doesn’t want a selfie with a corpse plant?”
Courtesy Austin Peay State University A time-lapse of Austin Peay State University’s second corpse flower, Athena, as she prepares to bloom in the near future.
This story was last updated at 10 a.m. Sunday.
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