In what will surely constitute a thrilling night out, Adelaideans are in the very rare and privileged position this week of being able to witness a rare flower that exudes the pungent odour of a carcass.
The titan arum, or “corpse flower“, is situated in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens and has begun flowering – a little early, according to the experts.
The flower, which they’ve named Ganteng (Indonesian for “handsome“), will only last for the next 48 hours, after which it will quickly wither and die. Particularly keen plant-fans (or just fans of terrible smells) can catch a whiff of the flower up until midnight tonight or during normal opening hours tomorrow.
The horrible smell that the flower exudes every 30 seconds aides pollination by attracting insects that usually lay their eggs in rotting meat or feed on dead animals. Delicious.
The flowering of the plant last year saw thousands flock to the gardens to voluntarily get a smell of what is essentially decaying animal because, hey, you gotta get your kicks somehow right.
Source: ABC.
Photo: Getty Images / Andy Cross.
