Conn. ‘corpse flower’ blooms; scent now waning

Conn. ‘corpse flower’ blooms; scent now waning

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — The University of Connecticut’s rare “corpse flower,” which has bloomed in all of its stinky glory, is starting to wane.

The bud of the exotic Sumatran plant, the titan arum, started opening Thursday and reached its most smelly point around midnight.

Visitors continued to check out the plant’s waning odor Friday, but UConn says Thursday night’s visitors got the most powerful whiffs of the flower that smells like rotting meat. The greenhouse was expected to remain open until 4 p.m. today for stragglers who wanted to catch the last of the scent.

The 12-foot plant has bloomed only a few times since the seed was planted in 1994.

Clint Morse, the UConn researcher who obtained and planted the flower, says it’s not expected to bloom again until about 2014.