Thousands await the rare flowering of the corpse plant

An endangered plant known as the ‘corpse flower’ for its putrid stench is blooming in Australia – and captivating the internet in the process, with thousands already tuning into a livestream to witness its grandiose debut .

The titan arum plant, housed in the Royal Botanic Gardens of Sydney, blooms only once every few years for just 24 hours.

Affectionately nicknamed Putricia, it will release an odor described as “wet socks, hot cat food or rotting opossum meat.”

The long wait to see Putricia fully develop has generated jokes and even unique lingo in the livestream chat, with thousands commenting “WWTF”, or “We Watch the Flower”.

The livestream attracted more than 8,000 simultaneous viewers on Thursday, doubling within hours as the appearance of the plant slowly changed.

John Siemon, director of horticulture and living collections at the gardens, compared the show to the 2000 Sydney Olympics, saying “we had 15,000 people walk through the gates before it (the flower) be also open.”

“This specimen is about 10 years old. We acquired it from our colleagues at the LA Botanic Garden at the age of three, and we have been nurturing it for the past seven years,” he told the BBC’s Newsday program .

“(We’re) incredibly excited to have our first bloom in 15 years.”

After days of inaction, the view on the livestream markedly changed on Thursday as Putricia, comfortably hanging behind a red velvet rope, began to open.

As it continues to bloom, viewers can expect to see Putricia develop a vibrant brown or crimson skirt, known as a spathe, around its spadix which is the large spike in the middle of the plant.

Occasionally, a visitor steps into the frame as they take a selfie with the plant.

The gardens said it’s “difficult to predict exactly when” Putricia will bloom, but that hasn’t stopped thousands from gathering online.

“I’m back to see how Putricia is doing and I can see she’s still taking her time like the queen she is, fair play,” wrote one commenter. “This is the slowest burlesque ever,” said another.

However, another person wrote: “At night I watched, slept, woke up, watched, slept. I am weak, but Putricia is strong. WWTF.”

Other popular acronyms among viewers are WDNRP (We Do Not Rush Putricia) and BBTB (Blessed Be The Bloom).

The plant can only be found in the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia, where it is known as bunga bangkai – or “corpse flower” in Indonesian. Its scientific name is Amorphophallus titanumwhich is derived from ancient Greek and means “gigantic penis misshape”.

When in flower, the long yellow spadix of the plant emits a strong odor, often compared to the smell of decaying flesh, to trick pollinators into landing on what they think is rotting flesh so they can move pollen between male specimens. and women.

It has the largest flowering structure in the world, as it can grow up to 3 m (10 feet) in height and weigh up to 150 kg. The plant contains several hundred flowers at the base of its spadix.

It is endangered in nature due to deforestation and land degradation.

Putricia is one of several titan arums at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, which last flowered 15 years ago.

But there have been other corpse flower blooms across Australia in recent years, including at the Melbourne and Adelaide Botanic Gardens, each time attracting thousands of curious visitors eager to get a whiff.

There are also a few housed in Kew Gardens in London, where one flowered in June of last year. Titan arum first flowered outside Sumatra in 1889 at Kew.