BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — If you visited Franklin Park Zoo this weekend, you might have been able to smell its latest attraction; a rare blooming Amorphophallus titanum— better known as a giant corpse flower.
It's been just over a week since Zoo New England said one of their corpse flowers, affectionately nicknamed Fester, was starting to bloom.
Corpse flowers are very sensitive plants, and conditions must be just right for them to bud. As they head into the blooming phase, the flowers often exhibit rapid growth of up to five inches per day.
At their full expanse, they can grow up to nine feet tall, and six feet across. They will also omit a pungent aroma that mimics a rotting carcass, hence the moniker "corpse flower." In the wild, these plants are scattered and the pungent smell can attract pollinators from quite a distance away.
After growing several feet over the past week, the zoo said on Saturday night that Fester had finally spread its petals for the first time since 2014.
Seeing and smelling a corpse flower is a rare experience, since they typically only bloom for 24 to 48 hours once every few years. Franklin Park Zoo said visitors who want to encounter Fester in all his glory should buy tickets in advance online.
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(Photo: Getty Images)