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Climate and Environment

What's That Smell? It's The Corpse Flower Getting Ready To Bloom At The Huntington Gardens

A large corpse flower stands in the middle of a garden.
The Corpse Flower at the Huntington Gardens. Last year's flower blossom lasted 40 hours.
(
Courtesy of the Huntington Gardens
)

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Topline:

The corpse flower, which can grow up to a massive 8 feet tall and blooms for only one to three days a year, is getting ready to bloom at the Huntington Gardens. 

What's with the smell? When in bloom, it gives off a putrid odor to mimic decomposition to attract pollinators — apparently carrion beetles and flesh flies love the smell of rotting flesh.

Where to watch: You can check out the flower at The Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science and on the grounds of the Huntington to get a whiff of the putrid smell. If you'd rather see it and not smell it — check out the Huntington's livestream here.

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