TitanWatch 5/13/03 1:30 AM a wild Stinkathon

From: "Craig Allen" callen at fairchildgarden.org> on 2003.05.13 at 06:02:04(10247) Heading home now. Just want to let anyone that stayed up all night watching the pollination know how much fun we had. There were about 15-20 people that stayed until about 10:30 PM, but there were an intrepid few (maybe 8-10) that stayed until 1:30 in the morning. That included a Miami Herald reporter who had a blast... well a wild Stinkathon. We popped the Champaign at 1 AM to celebrate my carrion beetle act. Mr. Stinky begin closing up almost immediately and odor lessened quickly. I hope that means pollination was successful. I write ya'll a more detailed update tomorrow, or I should say later today when and if I can get myself out of bed. It has been fun. Craig M. Allen +More Conservatory Manager Fairchild Tropical Garden 10901 Old Cutler Road Coral Gables (Miami), FL 33156 Telephone: 305.667.1651, ext.3320 Fax: 305.667.6930 Email: callen@fairchildgarden.org Web: www.fairchildgarden.org

From: hermine hermine at endangeredspecies.com> on 2003.05.13 at 16:34:55(10249) At 02:02 AM 05/13/2003 -0400, Craig Allen wrote: Heading home now. Just want to let anyone that stayed up all night watching the pollination know how much fun we had. There were about 15-20 people that stayed until about 10:30 PM, but there were an intrepid few (maybe 8-10) that stayed until 1:30 in the morning. That included a Miami Herald reporter who had a blast... well a wild Stinkathon. We popped the Champaign at 1 AM to celebrate my carrion beetle act. OH I HOPE IT WAS A LOUIS ROEDERER CRISTAL BRUT from a vintage year! i hope it was not a bulk process or methode charmat champagne! I hope the bottle was opened appropriately so that foam did not spew all over the place like in those locker rooms after some football team wins something! this is too exciting, i must lie down now. you might like to know that various groups of people, like performance artists, have been reading about this botanical wonder, and cannot believe it! i have not blown my cover and told them about the birds, bees, dung beetles and other wonders of the natural world, i have in fact said NOTHING to let on that this kind of thing is part of my "other" life. but it has been closely monitored by a large number of people outside of our botanical world. hermine +More --- Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.478 / Virus Database: 275 - Release Date: 05/06/2003

From: Paul Tyerman ptyerman at ozemail.com.au> on 2003.05.14 at 00:34:19(10252) At 02:02 13/05/03 -0400, you wrote: >Heading home now. Just want to let anyone that stayed up all night watching the pollination know how much fun we had. There were about 15-20 people that stayed until about 10:30 PM, but there were an intrepid few (maybe 8-10) that stayed until 1:30 in the morning. That included a Miami Herald reporter who had a blast... well a wild Stinkathon. We popped the Champaign at 1 AM to celebrate my carrion beetle act. Mr. Stinky begin closing up almost immediately and odor lessened quickly. I hope that means pollination was successful. I write ya'll a more detailed update tomorrow, or I should say later today when and if I can get myself out of bed. > Craig, I assume that the flower reopened in the morning though? I checked the webcam last night (our time) and watched over a while as daylight gradually brought Mr Stinky into light. It was fully open and looking wonderful at 7:30 - 10:00 am on the 13th, so I assume it must have reopened in the morning? Now according to the cam it is 8:30pm and dark so I assume that it must have closed during the day so the lights weren't put on this evening? I was mortified when I saw your original email saying it was opening and that it'd be closed by morning, as I thought I was going to miss it like I missed Audrey III.... but was relieved to find it open when daylight finally reached there. So, just to let you know that at least one person on the other side of the world enjoyed the show as well!! I thoroughly enjoyed the updates from you, and the various bits and pieces showing the changes to expected opening times etc. Well done! I wish I could have seen it in person, but i don't think we actually have any mature titanums in Australia do we? I hope to see one flower one day!! Gues I'll just have to wait until seeds are available over heresave up and buy a seed or two if they. Good luck with the Carrion beetle activities...... I hope they were successful. Will the webcams stay in place now, or will they be switched off shortly? Would love to see the seedhead develop if you were successful. All the best Craig. Thanks fo the enjoyment you've given us with the updates and webcams. Cheers. Paul Tyerman +More Canberra, Australia. USDA equivalent - Zone 8/9 mailto:ptyerman@ozemail.com.au Growing.... Galanthus, Erythroniums, Fritillarias, Cyclamen, Crocus, Cyrtanthus, Liliums, Hellebores, Aroids, Irises plus just about anything else that doesn't move!!!!!

From: "Craig Allen" callen at fairchildgarden.org> on 2003.05.15 at 17:11:07(10264) I'm not sure if the web cam will stay on the (hopefully) fruited inflorescence. It will have to be moved to a more secure place if it was pollinated. This morning it is forming the bag shape I was looking for. I think that is a good sign. Craig M. Allen +More Conservatory Manager Fairchild Tropical Garden 10901 Old Cutler Road Coral Gables (Miami), FL 33156 Telephone: 305.667.1651, ext.3320 Fax: 305.667.6930 Email: callen@fairchildgarden.org Web: www.fairchildgarden.org -----Original Message----- Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2003 8:34 PM To: aroid-l@lists.ncsu.edu Subject: Re: [aroid-l] TitanWatch 5/13/03 1:30 AM a wild Stinkathon At 02:02 13/05/03 -0400, you wrote: >Heading home now. Just want to let anyone that stayed up all night watching the pollination know how much fun we had. There were about 15-20 people that stayed until about 10:30 PM, but there were an intrepid few (maybe 8-10) that stayed until 1:30 in the morning. That included a Miami Herald reporter who had a blast... well a wild Stinkathon. We popped the Champaign at 1 AM to celebrate my carrion beetle act. Mr. Stinky begin closing up almost immediately and odor lessened quickly. I hope that means pollination was successful. I write ya'll a more detailed update tomorrow, or I should say later today when and if I can get myself out of bed. > Craig, I assume that the flower reopened in the morning though? I checked the webcam last night (our time) and watched over a while as daylight gradually brought Mr Stinky into light. It was fully open and looking wonderful at 7:30 - 10:00 am on the 13th, so I assume it must have reopened in the morning? Now according to the cam it is 8:30pm and dark so I assume that it must have closed during the day so the lights weren't put on this evening? I was mortified when I saw your original email saying it was opening and that it'd be closed by morning, as I thought I was going to miss it like I missed Audrey III.... but was relieved to find it open when daylight finally reached there. So, just to let you know that at least one person on the other side of the world enjoyed the show as well!! I thoroughly enjoyed the updates from you, and the various bits and pieces showing the changes to expected opening times etc. Well done! I wish I could have seen it in person, but i don't think we actually have any mature titanums in Australia do we? I hope to see one flower one day!! Gues I'll just have to wait until seeds are available over heresave up and buy a seed or two if they. Good luck with the Carrion beetle activities...... I hope they were successful. Will the webcams stay in place now, or will they be switched off shortly? Would love to see the seedhead develop if you were successful. All the best Craig. Thanks fo the enjoyment you've given us with the updates and webcams. Cheers. Paul Tyerman Canberra, Australia. USDA equivalent - Zone 8/9 mailto:ptyerman@ozemail.com.au Growing.... Galanthus, Erythroniums, Fritillarias, Cyclamen, Crocus, Cyrtanthus, Liliums, Hellebores, Aroids, Irises plus just about anything else that doesn't move!!!!!

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