Equisetum

I collected this stem of Scouring Rush from the Walter Natural Area for the Botany 200 lab. After the lab was over, I have kept it in a flask of water in the greenhouse as it is an easy one to root. The photo is of the fertile stem's spore bearing cone. As always, clicking on the photo will bring up the full size picture and clicking on the highlighted words lead to pertinent links.

Titan Updates

I thought I better provide an update for everyone. This picture is from last night of Titan # 1. If you compare this photo with the one from the last post, which was on Sunday, it has really declined this past week. Now on a brighter note, Titan #2 and #3 both grew 5/8 of an inch over the past seven days. Titan #2 was 5 and 1/8 inches tall while Titan #3 was 3 and 7/8 inches when measured at 8:30 this morning.

I am still working on getting a webcam setup for when the next Titan(s) bloom. Utech personnel are investigating several different possibilities. Hopefully, we will have something figured out.

Titan #1 Update

I was in early today to check the greenhouse and snapped a few pictures of the Titan before heading to Mom's. The inflorescence continues it's decline. The spadix and spath seem to be withering just as rapidly as they appeared. A week ago today it was in all of it's glory. Titan's don't seem to waste any time, one way or the other.

WIU Titans #2 and #3

Remember back to the April 16th post I talked about the WIU Titan Siblings. Well, Titan #2 has begun to grow some. Go back to the April 30th post to see a picture of it from that day for a comparison.
This picture below is of the WIU Titan #3. It is also just starting to grow. I will be potting it sometime today. I weighed it yesterday and it tipped the scale at 57 pounds.
These two Titans may flower this summer. I won't really know until the new bud gets some size to it, like 18 inches or so. I will provide updates concerning them, so stay tuned.

Thursday May 6th AM Update

Just posting a picture from this morning of how the inflorescence looked. Compared to yesterday's picture taken at 3:43 p.m., the spadix has folded over more. For all of you alert students out there, you should have noted that I made a mistake in yesterday's post, which I have corrected. I said spath when I should have said spadix. Bonus points to all that caught it.

Spadix Collapses This Afternoon

The inflorescence continues it's decline with the spadix collapsing this afternoon.

Let's Take A Look Inside

This afternoon/evening, I cut a hole in the spath with the purpose of collecting pollen. Of course I could not pass up the opportunity to take pictures. The bottom picture shows the actual flowers. This is an inflorescence, remember, which is many flowers not just one. The male flowers are all yellow and are above the reddish female flowers. The male flowers have released their pollen, as you can see, so the female flowers must be closed. Again, if you were taking notes, Titans do not self pollinate because the male and female flowers open at different times. Thus the need to stink and look like red meat to attract pollinators that carry the pollen between two Titans.

Tuesday May 4th P.M. Update

I am putting these pictures up to show that the spath has closed a little more through out the day. The smell has diminished even more. You have to be practically on top of it to get a good whiff.

Tuesday May 4th A.M. Update

This morning's post shows how much the spath has continued to close from 8 p.m. yesterday until 6 a.m. today. The greenhouse is open for anyone that wants to stop in. The hours are back to the usual of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. I also measured the height this morning and it was at 58 and 3/4 inches. I did not measure it yesterday , so since the Sunday morning measurement, it has grown 3/4 of an inch. It still smells, but not like it did Sunday evening. You really have to be fairly close to detect it's aroma.

A Little Different Perspective

Monday Evening Update

The pictures below, show the progress of the Titan's spath as it steadily closed through-out the day. The smell also diminished. It occasionally waffles but it is no where near the level it was yesterday evening.

It's Beginning to Close

Comparing the first picture in this post (1:59:40 a.m.) with the other three, which were taken a little after 5 a.m., you can see the spath is starting to close up. The greenhouse is open for anyone who wants to come by to see and smell it. Yes, it still smells but it's not overbearing like it was yesterday evening.

Inside the Spath

Finally Picture Time

It's Opening!

After spending three hours in the greenhouse this morning, the Titan did not look any different than the previous day. I thought it would not go today but maybe tomorrow or the next day. When I came back in at 3 p.m. I found out I was wrong in my guess. Well, maybe when the other 3 bloom I can make better guesses.

The greenhouse is now open and will be until late tonight for anyone that wants to stop by and see it.

May 2nd

Titan was 58 inches tall when measured at 8:20 am. This is the second day now that the new growth has only been 1.5 inches. It has definitely slowed it's upward growth. Also, within the past few days, the bracts have really begun to wither and fall away. Best guess for opening is within one to three days. When it does open, it will probably start in the afternoon and be fully open sometime in the late evening. I will post here as soon as possible when it does open.

May 1st

Titan was 56.5 inches tall when measured at 8:30 am. That is only 1.5 inches of new growth in the past 24 hour time period. I still think it will be next week (around Wednesday) when it actually opens; however, I really won't know positively until it does start to open.