What Is a ‘Corpse Flower’ + Why Is It Going Viral Right Now?

Death is in the air, and people can’t stop talking about it. The corpse flower is getting increased attention thanks to the rare plant currently blooming in multiple places around the U.S.

How Rare If The Corpse Flower?

If you’ve never heard of a corpse flower, you’re likely not alone. The plant is currently listed as being “endangered.” The United States Botanic Garden says there are fewer than 1,000 individual corpse flowers in the entire world.

They continue to be on the decline, too. The USBG estimates the corpse flower population has been reduced by at least 50 percent over the past 150 years.

But that’s not what has sparked corpse flower conversations among both plant lovers and those whose thumb isn’t even the lightest shade of green. Neither is the plant’s impressive height, with some growing as much as 8-feet tall.

Instead, it’s the plant’s rather ominous stench that some say smells like death.

What Does A Corpse Flower Smell Like?

Descriptions of what exactly the corpse flower smells like are all over the place. It’s safe to say, however, none of them will be turned into a lovely candle scent anytime soon.

A report from Now This described the plant’s odor as being “like if you mixed rotting fish, rotting onions and old sweaty socks.”

“Reachers think that the flower is trying to trick pollinators into thinking it’s rotting meat,” Now This producer Aubrey Patti tells viewers in a popular TikTok video.

A corpse flower nicknamed “Grimace” just bloomed for the first time since July 2021 at the Nicholas Conservatory and Gardens in Rockford, Illinois.

The bloom is only open for 24-48 hours before closing for another three or so years. Visitors flocked to the conservatory to get a whiff while they could with one report saying the corpse flower smelled like “rotting meat or burnt sugar.”

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Nicholas Conservatory and Gardens has a live feed available for those who want to monitor the corpse flower’s growth.

A corpse flower at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. bloomed on July 22. Interest in the plant cause the garden to extend its hours to accommodate additional guests who wanted a smell.

In an Instagram post, U.S. Botanic Garden said “the ‘stink’ is mostly just during the first 12 hours after it opens to attract flies and beetles for pollination.”

If you missed out on smelling the corpse flower when it was at its most pungent state, you’re in luck. A second bloom could is nearly ready to open at the U.S. Botanic Garden.