An American royal was celebrated on Monday.It's called the titan arum, more commonly known as the Corpse Flower.It's famous for its unique odor-something like rotting flesh-which it uses to attract pollinators.Botanist Bob Willeby, at the U.S. Botanic Garden, says it takes a lot of energy for the plant to create such a large bloom, two to three meters tall.This is an unusual occurrence,it happens infrequently throughout the United States in the world in general, he said.It's becoming more common, though, as colleges and universities acquire titan arums for their science programs.The plant, native to Indonesia, thrives in hot, humid climates.Anticipation was high when the Botanic Garden announced the imminent flowering of its titan arum last week.But it didn't bloom until Sunday.When the crowd entered the gardens Monday morning, something was missing.Some of the visitors were disappointed.It's not stinky, said one girl.Botanic Garden Educator Todd Brethauer said the stench occurs in cycles.The peak production of the chemicals, based on studies done in Germany and Japan, occurs around midnight and then it starts to taper off about four o'clock in the morning, he said.This is to attract pollinators, like dung beetles and flies, rather than bees and butterflies.They frequent sweet-smelling flowers.
一位美国皇室在周一受到了热烈祝贺。它被称为泰坦魔芋,通常叫做尸花。它因用来吸引传粉者的有点像腐肉的独特气味而著名。美国植物园的植物学家鲍勃・威尔博称这种植物需要很多能量来开出两到三米高这样大的花。这不同寻常,在美国很少见，在世界上也是如此,他说道。尽管各所学院和大学争相要求将泰坦魔芋作为其科研项目，它变得越来越流行。而原产于印度尼西亚的这种植物更适于炎热潮湿的气候。当上周植物园宣布泰坦魔芋即将开花时人们抱有很高的期待。但直到星期天它才开花。而游客们周一早晨来到植物园后发现缺了些什么。一些游客感到失望。它不臭了,一个女孩说道。植物园教育家托德・布莱豪尔表示恶臭会随周期性而出现。基于德国和日本的研究表明化学物质的产生高峰期出现在午夜,然后它大约在早晨4点钟开始逐渐减少,他说道。这是为了吸引比如金龟子和苍蝇等的传粉者,而不是蜜蜂和蝴蝶。它们喜欢飘香的花朵。
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