One room of Colette Theriault’s house in Val Caron was stinky last weekend.
This isn’t a judgment, but a reflection of the fact her Amorphophallus konjac finally bloomed last weekend. The plant, also known as a voodoo lily, is known for its pungent smell.
That’s why some people have nicknamed it and similar flowers a corpse flower.
Walking into the room housing the flower last weekend, an odour reminiscent of rotting meat hits hard.
“I was hoping it would be closer to spring so I could put her outside,” Theriault said with a chuckle.
Theriault started growing the plant from a corm (underground tuber) in May 2021, and expected it to finally flower last year when it hit 10 pounds, nine ounces in weight.
But, it held out until last weekend, when it finally flowered and began stinking.
“I’m fascinated by the living world,” said Theriault, an artist by trade and biologist by hobby. “I like to learn about everything in these interesting different plants we don’t have here.”
The plant blooms for only a few days every year or two.
It’s a cousin of the endangered Amorphophallus titanum, which is a larger version which tends to get media attention when they bloom, which happens for only a few days once every several years.
Nicknamed Matilda — “It looks like a Matilda,” Theriault said — the Amorphophallus konjac wasn’t difficult to grow, she said.
It took water, fertilizer, homemade compost, sun, “and it just did its thing.”
The Amorphophallus konjac is native to subtropical regions of Southeast Asia, where the corm is used as a food source, according to the University of Pennsylvania.
“Voodoo lilies are best known for their unique smell — that of rotting meat,” according to a write-up on the university’s website. “Amorphophallus species are commonly pollinated by beetles and flies, and so to attract their pollinators the flowers create a very pungent odor, one that can really overwhelm the greenhouse.”
When she’s not growing weird and wonderful plants, Theriault is an artist specializing in nature, animals and pets, and landscapes. Back in 2010, Sudbury.com (then NorthernLife.ca) published a story on how Theriault had been commissioned by the Pentagon in the United States to do a painting. You can read that story here. Check out Theriault’s work at ColetteTheriault.ca.
Tyler Clarke is a reporter at Sudbury.com.
