A dear child has many names.
The giant flower grows wild on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and is called bunga bangkai – corpse flower there. The Latin name, Amorphophallus titanum, means "misshapen giant phallus", on the other hand.
Now, a specimen of the rare plant, which is cultivated in only a few examples worldwide, is about to bloom in Sydney's botanical garden.
Visitors are queuing for hours to admire the flower called Putricia, take selfies, and experience the special smell, according to several media outlets. According to BBC, the smell is described as a mix of wet socks, warm cat food, and rotting mouse.
We discussed whether we should have vomit bags in the room, says the garden's spokesperson Sophie Daniel to AP.
Thousands have already visited the flower, even though it has not yet reached full bloom, and nearly a million have watched a live broadcast of the blooming. There is no time to waste: in just over a day, Putricia is expected to close again and the smell will disappear.
The endangered giant flower can grow up to three meters high and weigh up to 150 kilos. In the wild, it blooms every seventh to tenth year, but cultivated specimens often bloom for the first time around 15 years after sowing. The combination of the smell of decay and the flower becoming warm attracts beetles that are lured in and pollinate it.
