WASHINGTON, D.C. — It's an attraction emitting a mix of chemicals that smell like rotting onions, rotting fish, and sweat socks. Despite this disgusting combination hundreds of visitors are flocking to the U.S. Botanic gardens in Washington D.C. To see it.
Devin Dotson is the spokesperson for the gardens. He expects about 150,000 visitors to come by and see this Amorphophallus Titanum before it's bloom ends.
Tracy Isaacson is visiting all the way from California.
"I'm visiting my niece and sister-in-law and we were really excited to come smell this because they're so rare," she said.
Typically, a bloom lasts about 4 days.
The oldest plant in their collection is 16 years old.
"The corpse flower is listed as rare in the wild it's native to Sumatra, Indonesia and it's estimated there's potentially less than 1,000 of them left in the wild and it's really mostly because of human development," Dotson said.
The gardens has more than 20 of these plants, all part of a nationwide conservation project.
The temperature and humidity at the us botanic garden production facility creates a prime environment for this type of plant to thrive and bloom more often.
If you miss this bloom there are several other corpse flowers that should bloom later this summer or next year for the botanic gardens.
