An extremely rare and foul-smelling flower has reached its peak bloom in Dover, Massachusetts.

The amorphophallus titanum, or corpse flower, only blooms once every 10 years for a 24-hour period. The flower, named Eliza, can currently be seen at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in Dover.

Experts said the flower grows from a seed, one big tall leaf per year, for about 10 years. Then it literally heats up, creating a gas inside, and then opens.

The Massachusetts Horticultural Society was open Sunday night until midnight for those who wanted to see and smell the flower.

What does the corpse flower smell like?

"I came because it's a rare event and I always thought it'd be neat to see one of these rare flowers," visitor Shari Wall said. "The smell is not easy to take, it's kind of like a hot garbage can!"

"It smells like rotting diapers. Though I hear when it gets hotter, it's more stinkier, so I'm glad I'm here when it's cooler," visitor Isaac Verardo said.

Wheaton College grew the corpse flower in their research greenhouse in nearby Norton. In the middle of summer, no one would be on campus to experience it, so the Massachusetts Horticultural Society agreed to host the event.

James Hearsum, the president and executive director of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, said Sunday night about 800 people came to see the flower between 8 p.m. and midnight.

Hearsum was asked if you can ever get used to the smell of a corpse flower.

"It's pretty disgusting. I don't think so. I just popped back home briefly. I walked in the door and my wife was like, 'You're going to get rid of those clothes,'" Hearsum said.

When will corpse flower stop smelling?

Hearsum said that while looking at thermal imaging, you can see that the stem is warmer than the rest of the plant.

It began to smell around 6 p.m., and "peak stench" was between 2 and 4 a.m.

"It's still pumping out the stench. It will keep doing that through the morning certainly and then it will probably start to fade away, midafternoon today," Hearsum said.

Karen Daubmann, director of garden and programs, said the push of visitors has been a welcome sight at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

"This is something that we sort of needed. Middle of the summer, dog days of summer and you get something like this. It's pretty magical. People are enamored," Daubmann said.