Smelly Flower Will Bloom At Chicago Botanic Garden After 12-Year Wait

A flower known for its unpleasant scent has taken the Chicago Botanic Garden 12 years to grow, but its almost ready to bloom.

“Spike,” as named by the Chicago Botanic Garden, will be the first “corpse flower” to bloom in the Chicagoland area in roughly two weeks, according to NBC-5-Chicago.

On Thursday, the titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) was moved to the Garden’s Semitropical Greenhouse. When it does bloom, it will only be for a single day, and will not bloom again for another 7-10 years.

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“When it blooms, it puts on a show like no other,” said Tim Pollak, outdoor floriculturist for the garden.

When “Spike” blooms, the garden will stay open until 2 a.m. so admirers will “have a chance to take in the odor and the remarkable color of the world’s largest unbranched inflorescence.”

more via NBC-5-Chicago