Watch This Corpse Flower Bloom Or Else Wait Another 5 Years

Stinky Phil attracts crowds that want to get a whiff.

This is one popular attraction for something that totally reeks.

Stinky Phil, a corpse flower that blooms once every five years, drew more than 1,000 sniff-seeking flower fans over the weekend to its greenhouse at the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

The college released time-lapse footage recorded over 36 hours of the rare blooming.

Before the weekend, Virginia Tech News described the expected odor as a "primordial stench akin to rotting flesh." The giant flower, native to Sumatra, Indonesia, can reach 7 to 12 feet high, with a diameter of 3 to 4 feet.

Corpse flowers are known to draw large crowds. Spike, a titan arum plant in Glencoe, Illinois, recently attracted 50,000 people around the time it was expected to bloom. Unfortunately, Spike failed to open without some help from scientists and did not release the terrible odor fans were hoping for, The Chicago Tribune reported.

Stinky Phil in the greenhouse at Virginia Tech.

Stinky Phil in the greenhouse at Virginia Tech.

Credit: Virginia Tech

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