Stinky Flower Blooming In Texas (photo)

Experts say a rare, stinky corpse flower is expected to bloom this weekend in Houston.

Botanists at the Houston Museum of Natural Science are measuring the flower daily, and Friday said it stood nearly 5 feet tall and weighs 30 pounds.

The event marks the 29th time that the Amorphophallus titanum has opened in the country's history and the second recorded time in Texas.
Such plants emit a noxious odor that attracts pollinating carrion beetles hoping to lay their eggs in rotting flesh.
The Sumatran plant doesn't flower every year and when it does, it's only for two days.
A corpse flower bloomed in Nacogdoches in 2004. The smell was so bad, fans surrounded the plant to blow the scent away so visitors could approach.

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