Lois, the Corpse Flower, Blooms in Time for Wedding

Normally, weddings and flowers go hand-in-hand. But a wedding to be held this weekend at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences, Butterfly Center and Lois the Corpse Flower may prove the exception to that rule.

Lois is an Amorphophallus titanum, or Corpse flower, native to Indonesia. The 'corpse' flower name is derived from the aroma it gives off when it blooms: the smell of rotting corpses. The Corpse flower uses this stench to attract insects for pollination.

Lois was expected to bloom over two weeks ago, but seems to be suffering a case of stage fright. 3000 - 4000 visitors a day have been streaming through the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences door to catch a glimpse, or more correctly, whiff, of Lois the Corpse Flower. The Museum is recommending tickets be purchased online to avoid long queues at the box office.

The huge interest in Lois stems from the fact that a corpse flower has bloomed only 29 times in the US. Only two of those times have been in Texas. This is the first showing for the Houston Museum of natural Sciences though. Many corpse flowers bloom only once, adding to the rarity of the dead body odor and event.

This week, Lois the Corpse flower started to open, making her first moves towards blooming. The foul odor Lois emits during full bloom is yet to appear however.

If Lois hits full bloom this weekend, Lois the Corpse flower, could become the guest of (dis)honor at a wedding to be held at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences, Butterfly Center, which hosts almost a wedding a week.

The Zabala Smith wedding has been booked for a year, but even the most conscientious of wedding planners could not foresee the blooming of a rare, endangered flower with an odor of rotting dead bodies.

Today (Friday) , however, Lois began her odious display, leaving the bride, groom and guests of the Zabala Smith wedding to be held at the Museum this weekend wondering if the air will clear in time for the nuptials. The Katy couple may be lucky for the actual ceremony, but the rehearsal scheduled for tonight? Clothes pegs, a unique wedding day accessory, may be the only solution.

And if you're curious to see what Lois the Corpse Flower looks like? Click through the link below to the live web cam feed from the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences.

Sources:

MSNBC.com Corpse Flower Bloom Could Stink up Texas Wedding

Live Web-Cam