Ultra-rare, extra-smelly 'corpse flower' begins to bloom at Chicago Botanic Garden

It’s a rare sight (and smell) indeed at the Chicago Botanic Garden, as an infamous “Corpse Flower” has begun to bloom.

Officials at the Botanic Garden made the announcement on Monday, as one of the garden’s “Titan Arum” flowers began blooming Monday morning.

The flower, named “Alice,” will likely continue to bloom for only a short period, for around 24-to-36 hours, but while it does, it will emit the noxious odor that makes the flower famous.

One of the largest and rarest flowering plants on Earth, the “Corpse Flower” blooms very infrequently, only doing so after growing for a period of 5-to-10 years according to the Chicago Botanic Garden.

The flower’s famously foul odor is used to attract its primary pollinators, which include carrion beetles and flesh flies.

Standing a whopping six to eight feet tall while in bloom, titan arums appear as a huge flower. When they’re ready to reproduce, corpse flowers emit the rancid stretch they’ve become known for. As is the case with many flowering plants, the titan arum uses scent to attract pollinators during that time.

This video shows another corpse flower at the Botanic Garden blooming.

But they differ from others in a very unique way.

“Unlike most flowering plants, the arum has tremendous energy reserves that allow it to blast out its scent in one big, hours-long burst,” the website stated.

The scent is a magnet for the carrion beetles and flesh flies — the titan arum’s natural pollinators.

Those wanting to see the flower will have to move quickly, as the bloom will likely last less than two days. More information can be found on the garden’s website.

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