Corpse Flower at Myriad Botanical Gardens Begins to Bloom

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — The corpse flower at Myriad Botanical Gardens began to bloom on Sunday afternoon.

The bloom is expected to last 24-36 hours.

The flower is on public display in the Crystal Bridge Visitor Lobby. A live stream of the flower can be viewed by clicking here. The line to see the corpse flower was dozens deep on Sunday.

The organization’s director of horticulture, Nate Tschaenn, received the plant as a seedling more than eight years ago and has been waiting for it to start blooming ever since.

The first bloom is 4-6 feet tall. The corpse flower is the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world.

The corpse flower is known for its distinctive smell that some say smells like rotten meat.

The stench is to attract its pollinators, carrion beetles and flies, who are tricked into visiting thinking it’s something rotting they can lay their eggs in.

The corpse flower is native to the Native to the rainforests of western Sumatra, Indonesia.