Corpse Flower Blooms at the U.S. Botanical Garden

There is a new plant in bloom at the United States Botanical Garden Conservatory, the corpse flower, according to CNN.

The titan arum (Amorphophallus titanium), or corpse flower, is named for its odor, which is similar to the smell of rotting flesh. The flower began blooming on the weekend, and will remain in bloom for 24 to 48 hours before quickly collapsing again.

The plant has been part of the botanical gardens collection since 2007, though it doesn't have an annual blooming cycle. This is the first blooming cycle it has had since its arrival. It could be years or decades before the flower blooms again.

On July 8, the garden confirmed that the flower would bloom this year, at which point the garden's staff moved the plant to display to the public.

The plant tends to heat up before blooming. It begins to smell bad and then usually follows the odor by blooming overnight or during early morning hours. The heat and smell that emanate from the flower are intended to attract pollinating insects such as dung beetles in its natural habitat, says Ari Novy, the public programs manager for the garden. There aren't any dung beetles in the garden, but the flies may be attracted to the flower.

A live web cam allows people to view the flower online from anywhere.

The plant is native to Sumatra, Indonesia. The particular plant that is blooming is one of 14 corpse flowers that the garden has. They require a lot of heat and humidity, so they are rarely put on display. They are grown at greenhouses the garden has in Southeast Washington, D.C., an area that is rarely opened to the public.

The last time a blooming corpse flower was on display to the public was in 2007. There are at least seven U.S. institutions with at least one corpse flower as part of their collection.

Earlier this month, the National Botanic Garden of Belgium had its oldest corpse flower bloom. The flower attracted approximately 4,000 visitors over the three days of bloom, according to Franck Hidvegi, the spokesman for the garden. That flower previously bloomed in 2008 and 2011. The garden has another four plants, though they are still too young to bloom.