SAN ANTONIO — La Llorona, the corpse flower with a distinctive smell that has drawn many to the San Antonio Zoo, will only bloom partially according to an update from the zoo.
"Over the weekend, we reported smells coming from the plant, possibly indicating an impending or partial bloom occurrence," the zoo said in a Facebook post. "Unfortunately, this afternoon we observed a sagging of the spadix. This is a sign that the flower bloom was not fully successful - however, the plant remains alive and can bloom again in the coming decade."
The zoo said the flower will remain on display for the next few days, and the live stream will remain up.
"The process of decomposition of the flower is part of the natural life cycle of the plant, and we will take this opportunity to educate our guests to understand and appreciate the entire process," the update said. "San Antonio Zoo remains committed to helping save this plant species from extinction and growing this conservation program in the coming years with the addition of more plants."
Tim Morrow, President & CEO of San Antonio Zoo, put a bright spot on a disappointing update.
"While we noticed the plant's flaccid spadix today prior to a full bloom, we remain encouraged about our corpse flower conservation program, which began just a few months ago at San Antonio Zoo," Morrow said. "Beyond a life cycle lesson, this experience can also serve as general life lesson that even though you may not succeed on your first attempt, it doesn't mean you are a failure - you can still bloom in the future!"