EPISODE · Jun 16, 2026 · 7 MIN
When a San Francisco corpse flower blooms — what happens next?
from Crosscurrents · host KALW
Over the weekend, San Francisco’s Conservatory of Flowers announced that their corpse flower, named 'Scarlet,' would be blooming in the next 7 to 14 days. It’s an event that usually makes the news because these flowers can take up to ten years to reach their first bloom and they can smell like… death. But they’re also endangered. And one of the Conservatory’s neighbors, the California Academy of Sciences, has been working with a national effort to preserve this rare plant's DNA. KALW’s Wren Farrell took a look at the program in 2024 when the Academy’s corpse flower ‘Mirage’ had its own bloom.
What this episode covers
Over the weekend, San Francisco’s Conservatory of Flowers announced that their corpse flower, named 'Scarlet,' would be blooming in the next 7 to 14 days. It’s an event that usually makes the news because these flowers can take up to ten years to reach their first bloom and they can smell like… death. But they’re also endangered. And one of the Conservatory’s neighbors, the California Academy of Sciences, has been working with a national effort to preserve this rare plant's DNA. KALW’s Wren Farrell took a look at the program in 2024 when the Academy’s corpse flower ‘Mirage’ had its own bloom.
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When a San Francisco corpse flower blooms — what happens next?
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