For the third time this year, the Biological Sciences Greenhouse owns bragging rights to raising and blooming a Titan Arum, aka, Corpse Flower. Woody 2 bloomed on May 14, followed almost immediately by Maudine on May 24, a nearly unbelievable record. Now, the next great Buckeye Titan is set to unfurl as early as Tuesday, Aug. 20.

Check for updates, watch its progress on the greenhouse webcame, AND help name it.

This is the fifth Titan Arum to bloom at Ohio State since 2011. Joan Leonard, arts and sciences plant growth facilities program manager, raised all of these from the seeds she planted in 2001. She named each for a Buckeye legend: Woody, Jesse, Woody 2, and Maudine. Now, Leonard asks Titan Facebook fans to help name Titan Five, whose name will be announced the day of bloom.

This is not in her job description, but it is very much her most visible, public accomplishment.

Leonard’s regular responsibilities overseeing raising plants for teaching and research in two vast greenhouse facilities is a staggering amount of work that would keep most people fully-occupied. But Leonard is not most people. Going miles beyond her job description is what she does routinely and makes her truly remarkable./div>

Leonard did not set out to be a legend in the world of plant conservationists. But that is what she is becoming. She is one of very few people worldwide who have developed a successful Titan-blooming track record--hers an astounding three years in a row—and now—three in one year.

Few have ever managed the feat of blooming a Titan Arum from start to finish—that is, planting the seeds, watching over them through germination, tuber growth, leaf production, and dormancy—and maybe, just maybe, somewhere in their life cycle, be rewarded with a bloom, instead of a leaf. Fewer still have done this multiple times.

In fact, Titans have bloomed less than 200 times worldwide since the Titan Arum, Amorphophallus titanum, aka Corpse Flower, was discovered in 1878 by Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari in Sumatra’s rainforest—this ancient plant’s only natural—and rapidly disappearing habitat. So it is clearly not easy to be successful, even for plant scientists who have the necessary, professional resources and facilities.

So what is Leonard’s secret for her astounding success of producing not just tubers and “tree-leafs,” but big, beautiful odiferous blooms?

“Well, it is luck, of course,” she said, “but apart from that, it is just sheer patience. The process of nurturing, of watching--even during dormancy, is more important than anything. You have to make sure that they are cared-for, that you are giving them what they need, when they need it, and in the amounts that are needed. You cannot hurry a Titan.”

For Leonard, it is not about the well-deserved bragging rights; it is about preservation for a species on the verge of extinction in the wild. “Many plant conservationists around the world have taken on the responsibility of ensuring that this species survive, if not in the wild, then in botanical gardens and conservatories, where they can be cared for, and pollen collected from those that do bloom shared with others who have undertaken this same mission.” 

Leonard’s work is never done. It is almost a given that Leonard will not get much sleep during the blooming of a Titan, because she does not just raise Titans; she pollinates Titans. Seeds and pollen must be collected at the optimal moment, so if she has to stay in the greenhouse until 1:30 in the morning to pollinate her Titan Arum, she stays and does it. The potential to give life to other Titans is more important to Leonard than the loss of a few hours’ sleep.

Where in the World are Joan Leonard’s Titan Jesse seeds?

After collection, Leonard quietly, quickly and efficiently makes sure that no seed or pollen is wasted. She sends seeds and pollen to other institutions worldwide committed to the preservation of Titan Arums. Here’s where they can be found:

—Around Ohio: Oberlin College; Miami University (seed and tuber, which bloomed April 9, 2013); Ohio Wesleyan; OSU-Wooster; Franklin Park Conservatory;

—Across the United States: The University of Connecticut; Smithsonian Gardens Greenhouse; Smithsonian Botany Greenhouse; Missouri Botanic Gardens; University of Wisconsin –Madison; University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Central Michigan University; Washington State University; University of Illinois; Penn State; University of California-Davis; University of Wyoming; Harvard University; Ball State University; California State University- Northridge; University of San Diego; Iowa State University; Vanderbilt University; West Chester University; Oak Park Conservatory (Illinois); University of Missouri- Columbia; Myriad Botanical Gardens (Oklahoma) ; Naples Botanical Garden (Fla.)

—Throughout the world: Niagara Parks Showhouse (sent them half of the seeds since they provided pollen- they are distributing seeds to Canadian institutions); Xianhu Botanical Garden, Shenzhen, China; University of Calgary; Toronto Zoo

—On Leonard’s waiting list for seeds: Otago Museum, Dunedin, New Zealand; Rani Chandramani Devi Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre, Peda Waltair, Visakhapatnam, India.

Where in the World Did Leonard’s Titan Arum Pollen Go?

—The Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, Scotland; Binghamton University (New York); California State University- Chico; University of Wisconsin- Madison; Smithsonian Botany Greenhouse

Fortunately, many at Ohio State share Leonard’s passion for conservation, including Erich Grotewold, Professor of Molecular Genetics; Horticulture and Crop Science; and Director of the Center for Applied Plant Sciences, who said, “The flowering of the Titan, with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the plant kingdom, in the Biological Sciences Greenhouses provides rich testimony once again of the premier role that Ohio State University plays in plant research, plant biodiversity and plant species conservation.

“In addition to the many exotic plants grown in the Biological Sciences Greenhouses under the outstanding stewardship of Joan Leonard, Ohio State is home to both the Ornamental Plant Germplasm Center (OPGC) and the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center (ABRC). OPGC, part of the National Germplasm System, holds and distributes about 3,200 accessions of herbaceous ornamental plants; and ABRC holds the largest collection of seeds—over half a million stocks—for Arabidopsis, the popular plant used for genetics research.”