Photo: Getty Images
When you think of flowers blooming, you probably imagine a nice, floral scent wafting through the air. However, one unique plant called the Corpse Flower breaks with tradition, and with a name like that, it's bound to have much more pungent stench than other flora.
As botanist and Austin Peay State University professor Carol Baskauf puts it bluntly, "It smells like a dead corpse." A study from 2010 also notes that people who have seen the bloom have reported it smells like cheese, sweat, garlic, decomposing meat, feces and rotting fish, per News Channel 5.
A large Corpse Flower, also known by its scientific name Amorphphallus titanum, is preparing to bloom soon inside APSU's greenhouse. According to the news outlet, the Corpse Flower is native to Sumatra, Indonesia, and can bloom once every few years. Visitors continue to stop by to see — and smell — the strange flower, but because it hasn't bloomed yet, the rancid smell is not noticeable.
Baskauf, however, said the flower's bloom, which they call Zeus, could happen any day now, bringing with it the strong odor, but it lasts less than two days.
APSU's Sundquist Science Complex Greenhouse is housing the Corpse Flower, which visitors can see this week from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. The university's biology department also has a livestream running for curious onlookers to check on the bloom's progress, which can be found here.