In front of me is a green plant, about eight feet tall, and it continues to grow.
But it’s not flowering right now. I'm thankful, because when it does, the corpse flower is notorious for smelling really bad.
"This is an Amorphophallus Titanum or the Titanarum. Some people also call it the corpse plant, and this flower is pretty unique because it smells like rotting flesh and attracts flies, which are its main pollinator," explained Anna Bower.
She knows all about the odorous plant, since she’s the Associate Curator of Living Collections and Nursery Manager at Ganna Walska Lotusland in Montecito, where the corpse flower is one of the many curious and exceptional plants being auctioned in a fundraiser sale this weekend.
Along with ancient and unique plants known as cycads.
"They were so prominent during the time of the dinosaurs that it was also called the age of the cycads," said Paul Mills, Curator of the Living Collections and Director of Conservation. "They were a dominant part of the flora."
"As they're such an important part of Lotusland's collection, they're also an important part of our upcoming auction," said Mills. "There's people that are pretty hardcore cycad collectors. What we have here is a hybrid cycad that Anna and I created here at Lotusland, so it's a cross of two different species of cycad."
"It is essentially a one-of-a-kind cycad, the female parent is one of the blue South African cycads called Encephalartos horridus, and then the male, the pollen donor parent, is probably the most famous cycad on the planet, and that's Encephalartos wood," Mills explained. "And that's because only one plant was ever found in the wild of this plant, and it was a male plant. And in the late 1800s, that plant was collected and brought entirely to a botanic garden in South Africa. So it's now extinct in the world because this one plant was never discovered, a male plant. So it has been called the loneliest plant on the planet. And ours are called the three bachelors because they've never found a female."
According to Rebecca Anderson, Lotusland's CEO, the plant sale is an opportunity for people to have their own little slice of the garden's beauty.
"Lotusland is a global conservator of rare and threatened plants," said Anderson. "We're a living museum. We're a sanctuary for plants and people, for wellbeing, for the life of the planet and the people who inhabit it. We are very limited with reservations that are restricted by the county because we're in a residential neighborhood. And so we need to make up the majority of our revenue through special events and fundraising. We have 300 guests come and mingle, and enjoy and wander the gardens. Then they get to take home treasures, which are the most special and rare plants you can find anywhere. And hopefully keep them alive. That's the challenge and the opportunity!"
The Exceptional Plants Auction is from 1to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Lotusland in Montecito.
