The Corpse flower bloom in Sydney thrilled crowds on Friday as the rare plant blossomed for the first time in over ten years. Known scientifically as Amorphophallus titanum and as “bunga bangkai” in its native Indonesia, this oversized bloom features fluted crimson petals measuring nearly one meter across and a central stalk reaching up to three meters in height. The flower is known for its odour akin to rotting flesh.

For the first time in almost two decades, an Amorphophallus titanum flower blossomed in the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. The garden was open to the public by donation during this unique 24-hour event, and it remained open until midnight while it was in bloom. A specimen in Sydney has not flowered since 2010, and the plant usually only blooms once every few years. Putricia is the fifth corpse flower to bloom in the gardens.

Crowds Gather to Witness the Corpse Flower Bloom in Sydney

Visitors to the city’s Royal Botanic Garden have been examining the specimen known as Putricia, a mix of the words “putrid” and “Patricia,” for the past week. The specimen’s admirers refer to themselves as “Putricians.” Queues became longer, and people waited up to three hours on Thursday afternoon as the eagerly anticipated unfolding of Putricia’s petals got underway.

Visitors were instructed to wait behind a red rope in a tiny glasshouse tucked away among the botanical gardens’ verdant trees in the hopes of catching a peek of the tropical plant. While curious bystanders angled their phones to record the scene, staff members came out to play with Putricia’s petals, softly urging them to unravel. Rebecca McGee-Collett, a Sydney resident who waited for the flower for ninety minutes on Thursday night, described it as lovely but added that it smelled “like hot garbage.”

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A Global Phenomenon

The plant’s live stream has received about a million hits. In contrast to rotting flesh, wet socks, and steaming cat food, the stink would typically turn off tourists rather than draw them in. But thousands of people came to see it. Visitors who planned to visit before the bloom and its stink vanished within a day were all over social media. The bloom’s limited supply and transient nature encouraged both in-person and online attendance.

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