Corpse flower blooms at Canberra's Australian National Botanic Gardens for the first time
Corpse flower blooms at Canberra's Australian National Botanic Gardens for the first time
www.abc.net.au
'Smells like dead rat': Corpse flower blooms in Canberra after 15-year wait
An Amorphophallus titanum or titan arum, commonly known as the corpse flower, has bloomed at the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra for the first time.
The 15-year-old plant started unfurling its 135 centimetre-tall flower spike on Saturday afternoon, emanating a putrid stench described by some as smelling like "dead rat".
The bloom is expected to start collapsing by Monday afternoon and will gradually return to a dormant state as an underground corm.