BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Hold your noses, because a giant corpse flower at the Franklin Park Zoo looks like it's about to bloom for the first time since 2014.
According to Zoo New England, the Amorphophallus titanum— better known as a titan arum or corpse flower, are very sensitive plants, and conditions must be just right for them to bloom.
As they head into the blooming phase, the flowers often exhibit rapid growth of up to five inches per day. At their full expanse, corpse flowers can grow up to nine feet tall, and six feet across.
Right now, Franklin Park Zoo says one of its four corpse flowers, affectionately nicknamed Fester, is about four feet tall and is expected to open up soon.
When Fester does eventually bloom, it will only do so for 24 to 48 hours. It will also omit a pungent aroma that mimics a rotting carcass, hence the moniker "corpse flower.
At this stage, the zoo said it is "difficult to predict exactly when, or if, Fester will bloom," but the "BloomWatch" has begun.
The zoo suggests anyone interested in following the plant’s development can check in on social media under #BloomWatch or through the Zoo’s social media accounts.
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(Photo: Getty Images)