New Reekie is still drawing a crowd even though it is now begining to look past its best. Today (30th June 2015) the skirt-like spathe that wraps around the central spadix is closing and begining to shrivel and fade. At any momment the entire structure could flop over as decay sets in.

Titan arum around 10.30pm on 26th June showing the spadix at around 35 degrees centigrade. Image: copyright SRUC.

Titan arum around 10.30pm on 26th June showing the spadix at around 35 degrees centigrade. Image: copyright SRUC.

Prior to first opening during the evening of Friday 26th June SRUC rigged a thermal camera to take time-lapse images to record the heating of the spadix on the first night. Titan arum is a real power plant as it literally generates heat through chemical reactions within the spadix. The purpose of this is to spread the chemicals that mimic rotting flesh far and wide in the forest so that potential pollinators are drawn to the flower. The legendary stench is really only experienced in the middle of the night on the first night when the flower opens. This always begins with the heating of the spadix in the early evening, with a temperature peak around midnight when the spadix will reach human body temperature.

The images below show in a very visual way the heating and cooling of the spadix on that first night and we are grateful to Marianne Farish of SRUC who has provided her expertise and thermal imaging camera to record this remarkable event.

Titan arum at 6pm on the 26th June showing clear heating of the spadix and some opening of the spathe that had up to that point been tightly wrapped around the spadix. Image: copyright SRUC.

Titan arum at 6pm on the 26th June showing clear heating of the spadix and some opening of the spathe that had up to that point been tightly wrapped around the spadix. Image: copyright SRUC.

Titan arum at 7pm on 26th June showing a more open spathe and cooler surrounding vegetation. Image: copyright SRUC.

Titan arum at 7pm on 26th June showing a more open spathe and cooler surrounding vegetation. Image: copyright SRUC.

Titan arum at 10.32pm on 26th June showing a marked temperature difference between the hot spathe (~35 degrees) and the cool surroundings. Image: copyright SRUC.

Titan arum at 10.32pm on 26th June showing a marked temperature difference between the hot spadix (~29 degrees) and the cool surroundings. Image: copyright SRUC.

Titan arum showing the spadix completely cooled back to ambient temperature by 9am on 27th of June when the first visitors saw the bloom (note the people showing in red on the image). Image: copyright SRUC.

Titan arum showing the spadix completely cooled back to ambient temperature by 8.49am on 27th of June when staff were admiring the bloom just before the first visitors. Image: copyright SRUC.

Marianne with one of the two thermal imaging cameras used to record the heating of the titan arum. Image: copyright SRUC.

Marianne with one of the two thermal imaging cameras used to record the heating of the titan arum. Image: copyright SRUC.