Corpse Flower in Bloom at Phipps Conservatory

Pittsburgh is known for its history with zombies. Since Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, Pittsburgh has become the undead capital of the States. According to Zombiepedia (which is apparently a thing):

Pittsburgh is often considered to be the most-likely ground-zero for the zombie invasion due to its rich history in both zombie folklore as well as pioneering in the field of actual lab creation of zombies.”

Romero

I’m not sure how much truth there is to that, but the city has one more of the undead joining its ranks. Phipps Conservatory has their own plant zombie ready to rise from the dead, aka bloom. Named Romero (how appropriate), the plant rarely blooms, and when it does, it smells of rotting flesh–thus the name corpse flower. Romero blooms every 6-10 years, and the bloom only lasts for 24-48 hours. The corpse flower is one of the rarest and largest flowers in the world, it’s an international event when these things bloom.

Romero is set to bloom this month, and with the magic of social media, you get to find out the exact moment. Follow Phipps or RomeroAtPhipps on Twitter, or check them out on Facebook for real-time updates. If you check the flower out yourself, make sure to share photos with the hashtag #RomeroAtPhipps.

Stay tuned to social media and spin by Phipps to check out this rare, stinky plant. The conservatory is open from 9:30am-5pm daily. For more info on Romero and visiting Phipps, check out its website.

Main entrance to Phipps Conservatory & Botanic...
Main entrance to Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens (Photo credit: Wikipedia)