Rare flower blooms in St. Louis

KMOV in St. Louis is reporting that the rare 'corpse flower' growing the Missouri Botanical Garden has bloomed, releasing a fragrant odor.

Garden officials say the flower began blooming Monday and will maintain its full form for about three to five days.

In the first 24 hours, the plant gives off a rotten smell. It maintains its bloom for three to five days. Peak bloom—and the worst of the odor—lasts just 24 hours or so, the putrid smell emitted from a tall spike of small crowded flowers. The plant grows up to 6 feet tall and can be up to 3 feet wide.

Amorphophallus titanum is the species name, but the tall and rare plant is more commonly known as the titan arum, or “corpse flower.” One whiff is all the explanation necessary—when another corpse flower bloomed earlier this year at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the university described the smell as “a cross between rotting flesh and Limburger cheese.”

To read the entire story visit the KMOV story, here.