Corpse flower blooming at Brooklyn Botanic Garden
NEW YORK — A foul-smelling corpse flower is blooming at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
The BBG said around New Year's Eve, a gardener noticed the plant's inflorescence was starting to emerge and moved it into the garden's Aquatic House.
The plant, named "Smelliot" by the garden's social media followers, started to faintly smell Thursday and opened Friday, the BBG said.
"It's perfectly putrid!" their website says.
The BBG says the flower will only be in bloom for a few days before collapsing. The garden will be open Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
To get the latest updates, follow the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on social media and check their website.
What is a corpse flower?
According to the BBG, the Amorphophallus gigas is "an infrequent bloomer and quite rare in cultivation."
Corpse flowers are said to smell like rotting flesh, which is meant to attract pollinators.
The flower on display at the BBG has grown three-and-a-half feet over the past few weeks, and the garden says it continued to inch up this week before opening.
The BBG received their corpse flower in 2018. This is the first time it's blooming in Brooklyn.