See it: Stinky, rare 'corpse flower' blooms at Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Smelliot began blooming on Friday and is expected to finish its bloom on Sunday.
Video: Pungent 'corpse flower' blooms at botanic garden in Brookyln, New York
A rare and smelly plant known as Amorphophallus gigas is blooming at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Commonly dubbed a "Corpse Flower" the bloom only lasts a few days and happens infrequently.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – A putrid-smelling species of flower commonly known as a "corpse flower" is causing quite a stink at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Affectionately named "Smelliot" by garden staff, this pungent plant is called Amorphophallus gigas and is related to the popular Amorphophallus titanium, which grabs headlines as a corpse flower.
The gigas can grow even taller than the titanium, and it gives off a similar carrion scent to attract fly pollinators, Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) said.
RARE CORPSE FLOWER BLOOMS IN SAN FRANCISCO FOR FIRST TIME
"Smelliot" the corpse flower blooming at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
(Peter Slattery/Brooklyn Botanic Garden via Storyful)
"It is not as large as an Amorphophallus titanum bloom, but its uniquely tall inflorescence is a significantly more rare occurrence," BBG gardener Chris Sprindis said.
Corpse flower blooms usually only last a few days and only happen every few years, BBG said.
Sprindis started noticing the plant unfurling around New Year's Eve and moved the plant into the Aquatic House in the Steinhardt Conservatory for its bloom.
This is the first time the gigas has bloomed at BBG since its arrival from Malaysia in 2018.
RARE ONCE-A-DECADE 'CORPSE FLOWER' BLOOM ATTRACTS THOUSANDS OF VISITORS IN AUSTRALIA
FILE: People watch two blooming plants of the Amorphophallus gigas, a species in the rare Amorphophallus known as the "corpse flower," in the Leiden Botanical Garden in Leiden, the Netherlands, March 4, 2023.
(Sylvia Lederer/Xinhua)
According to the Botanic Gardens Conservation International, only nine other Botanic Gardens have Amorphophallus gigas, BBG said.
Smelliot began blooming on Friday and is expected to finish its bloom on Sunday.
Visitors of other corpse flower blooms have reported smelling the rotting stench of the flower from several feet away.