An infamously pungent, towering Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum) named Scarlet went into rare full bloom on July 3, 2023, attracting hundreds to the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers to see and smell the rare corpse flower. The bloom of this plant, native to the rainforests of Sumatra, only lasts for a few days. Its corpse-like fragrance has an even shorter span, diminishing after the first couple of hours following the bloom.
The history of at least one Titan Arum at the Conservatory traces back to a Mission District bathroom. Sidney Price raised the plant there after acquiring it at a sale at the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden. The bathroom was full of sun and Price’s cleanliness also proved to be fortuitous. His twice daily showers created humidity that, with the ample sunshine, promoted the plant to grow—and grow. It became so large, with leaves measuring at least 7 feet, that it could no longer easily be maintained; Price donated it to the Conservatory. The challenges of raising it did not dampen Price’s fondness for the plant, though.
“It was just so beautiful,” he told Mission Local‘s Laura Wenus. “It’s like looking at a Georgia O’Keeffe painting … except a hundred times bigger. It’s so beautiful and, I have to say it, kind of erotic. I fell in love. It was love at first sight, even though the stench of it was unbearable, because it really is very bad. You could smell it like 100 feet from the closed building where it was blooming.”
Price is a survivor in his own right. A longtime out gay man, he moved to San Francisco from Arkansas in 1975 and worked in IT for many years. Popular here in the city, he told KQED that “Harvey Milk even hit on me.” He retired in 1996 when he was diagnosed with AIDS. Medication and more turned things around for the better. As he said, “It was like all the conditions came together for my survival. And later, for the plants.”
https://conservatoryofflowers.org/
Botanical-Themed Coffee
Plants also provide inspiration for barista Emmett at Highwire Coffee Roasters in Oakland at Rockridge Market Hall. A member of our San Francisco Bay Times team recently went there and admired the designs Emmett created with seeming ease on his delicious drinks. He is an artist both at and away from the espresso machine. “I try to incorporate art in all that I do,” he said.
Highwire has just introduced an enticing new summer menu of drinks that includes the Cruel Palmer (iced tea with watermelon syrup and lemonade over ice), a Lavender Latte, and the East Bay Breeze (a double shot of espresso, tonic water, and watermelon syrup over ice).
Rockridge Market Hall: https://rockridgemarkethall.com/
Highwire Coffee Roasters (with multiple locations): https://www.highwirecoffee.com/
Published on July 27, 2023
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