What to Know
- The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino
- "Green Boy" and "Stinkie" will go on public view in the Conservatory starting on July 21 (masks required)
- Weekday reservations not required (except for holiday Mondays); admission is ticketed
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens has been home to literally millions and millions of flowers over the decades, but 14 of those flowers stand out from the crowd in a rather notable, and nose-able, way.
We're talking about the Corpse Flower, or Amorphophallus titanum, if you like to refer to plants by their official Latin handles. This is the tall and regal specimen that produces a foul fragrance when it fully flowers.
And the opening process? It is as brief as the flower is smelly, adding even more mystique to the annals of Corpse Flower lore.
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The Huntington's 12th Corpse Flower, which opened in early July 2021, turned out to be its largest Corpse Flower ever.
Many fans surely thought seeing that behemoth would be the tip-top experience of their flower-seeking summer, but nope, no way, and nosireee: There are not one but two Corpse Flowers currently at the San Marino gardens, where they're preparing to challenge the olfactory-based limits of curious visitors.
Their names?
As always, The Huntington's staffers are finding creative ways to label these fantastical flora: "Green Boy" and "Stinkie" are the flowers' memorable monikers, and, indeed, the names are odiferous odes to "The Blue Boy" by Thomas Gainsborough and "Pinkie" by Thomas Lawrence, the cultural destination's celebrated side-by-side paintings.
How to see this flowery "power couple" when things may or may not start stenching?
They'll be on display in The Huntington's Conservatory starting on Wednesday, July 21.
You'll need to wear a mask to view Green Boy and Stinky, do keep in mind, but weekday reservations, save for holiday Mondays, are not necessary at this time (though admission is ticketed).
If you'd like to follow along from home, you can: See the dynamic duo's livestream here.
But will they both open up at the same time? Are they basically observing the same schedule? Do they share an unspoken and mysterious bond that only other Corpse Flowers can fully understand?
Stay tuned, stink-seekers of Southern California, for more on this summer's pretty and putrid twosome.
