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Thursday, April 10, 2014 Contact: Scot Mitamura, 532-1250   Corpse flower to bloom Friday/Saturday       Photo of "Mr. Stinky" was taken yesterday, Apr 9, 2014.   Honolulu – The flower sheath of an Amorphophallus titanum began falling late yesterday and the flower is anticipated to open tomorrow  afternoon.  This rare, exotic flower should be fully open late Friday night and begin closing on Saturday.  Although it is expected to start closing on Saturday, the corpse flower is likely to be open (and smelly) enough to warrant a visit to Foster Botanical Garden's Orchid Conservatory.    The Amorphophallus titanum is the largest unbranched inflorescence in the plant kingdom.  Contributing to the plant's exotic allure is its pungent odor of rotting flesh, which serves to attract the carrion beetles that pollinate the flower.  This short lived flower only blooms once every 3 to 5 years.   Foster Botanical Garden also announced today that another of its Amorphophallus titanium is anticipated to bloom in the next two weeks.  Please "like" Foster Botanical Garden or Mayor Kirk Caldwell on Facebook or follow Mayor Caldwell on twitter (@MayorKirkHNL) for updates on when both Amorphophallus titanum will bloom.   There are five distinct gardens forming Honolulu's unique botanical garden system: Foster Botanical Garden, Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden, Koko Crater Botanical Garden, Lili'uokalani Botanical Garden, and Wahiawa Botanical Garden.  The five gardens, located in different ecological settings on Oahu, offer visitors year-round opportunities to explore unique and diverse plant collections.   Garden admission is free, except at Foster Botanical Garden.  Cost for admission at Foster Garden is: $5.00 - general, 13 years and older; $3.00 - Hawaii resident 13 years and older with ID; $1.00 - child 6 to 12 years old; free - child 5 years old and under (must be accompanied by an adult).  Foster Botanical Garden is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., daily, except for Christmas and New Year's Day.  Please call 522-7066 for more information on Foster Botanical Garden.   Foster Botanical Garden, at 50 North Vineyard Boulevard, is located in busy downtown Honolulu and is the oldest of the city's botanical gardens.  The garden displays a mature and impressive collection of tropical plants. Some of the magnificent trees in this 14-acre garden were planted in the 1850s by Dr. William Hillebrand.  The garden also includes a palm collection, the Lyon Orchid Garden, hybrid orchid display, the Prehistoric Glen, and a gift shop.     -END-