Como Zoo's corpse flower is blooming. A Marjorie McNeely Conservatory horticulturist arrived at work Wednesday morning and noticed that the rare flower, called a titan arum, was emitting its distinctive scent, which many liken to the smell of rotting flesh.
The bloom -- once every 15 years -- is expected to last for a day or so and is one of only about 125 recorded worldwide to have occurred since the flower was discovered in the Indonesian rain forest in the 1870s.
For much of the plant's life, it grows a single, tall leaf stalk. When it blooms, its green collar will fan out and turn a deep purple. The color, along with the smell and the fact the plant actually heats up, helps attract pollinating insects that normally feed on carrion.
Cultivated in a greenhouse at the conservatory since 2005, the flower has been moved to a public area where it can be seen -- and smelled -- in all its, um, glory.