Titan arum as it begins to wilt
on Friday, July 25, in the morning.
Photo courtesy of Anne-Catherine Fallen.
Dr. Dan Nicolson, Curator, and Deborah Bell,
Museum Specialist, both of the Smithsonian
Institution's National Museum of Natural History,
Department of Botany, lift the severed spathe
from the spadix.
Dr. Nicolson measures sections of the dissected spathe as educators look on. Photo courtesy of Anne-Catherine Fallen.
Holding open a section of the spathe, Dr. Nicolson discusses the beauty of its delicate structure.
With the spadix fully exposed, Dr. Nicolson points out the rows of female and male flowers at the base.
Photo courtesy of Anne-Catherine Fallen.
Close up of the base of the spadix
showing the lower rows of brown,
female, seed-producing flowers
and upper rows of yellow, male,
pollen-producing flowers.
Pollen that had fallen to the base of the spadix spills onto the table. The pollen was collected by Dr. Nicolson to be frozen in liquid nitrogen for possible future use.
The spadix is sliced lengthwise.
Photo courtesy of Anne-Catherine Fallen.
The dissected spadix reveals a cobweb-like interior with large air spaces.
Photo courtesy of Anne-Catherine Fallen.
Further cuts reduce the spadix into smaller pieces for pressing.
Photo courtesy of Anne-Catherine Fallen.
With plant pieces properly placed between sheets of absorbent paper, the plant press is closed. Over time, the specimens will dry. Pieces of the spadix were also chemically preserved in FAA solution (ethanol, formalin and acetic acid). Photo courtesy of Anne-Catherine Fallen.
The stump will wither and decompose. Eventually, new
growth will appear. Will it be a leaf or a flower?
Wait and see. Photo courtesy of Anne-Catherine Fallen.
