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Interview: The University of Tennessee's Amorphophallus Titanum (It's a Plant)

WUOT | By Chrissy Keuper
Published July 27, 2021 at 1:36 PM EDT
Photo by Chrissy Keuper
Credit Photo by Chrissy Keuper
Amorphaphallus titanum, also known as The Corpse Flower. Jeff and Kaitlin have nicknamed it Rotty Top.

Something very special is happening on the University of Tennessee campus. Jeff Martin, Greenhouse Manager, and Kaitlin Palla, Assistant Greenhouse Manager and lecturer, of UT’s Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department are waiting for the event to unfold on the fourth floor of the Hesler Biology Building. WUOT’s Chrissy Keuper spoke with them about what's going on. 

 
Rotty Top Live! (You can watch it bloom via live feed)
UTK Biology Greenhouse Instagram

Credit Photo by Chrissy Keuper

Credit https://www.instagram.com/utk_greenhouse/
Yellow male pollen (above) and purple female flowers (below)

Kaitlin Palla and Jeff Martin of UT's Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department
Credit Photo by Chrissy Keuper
Friday July 30, 10:30am
Science
Chrissy Keuper
Chrissy served as WUOT's News Director and host of monthly public affairs talk show Dialogue from late 2021 to early 2023. Her first job with the station was as weekend student announcer while earning her bachelor's in Anthropology from the University of Tennessee. She had previously been the station's local host for NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered news programs; occasionally filled in as host for WUOT's Morning and Afternoon Concerts; and won multiple awards for her interviews, feature stories, and Dialogue.
See stories by Chrissy Keuper