Rare, smelly corpse flower now blooming at Vancouver conservatory

Vancouver -

A rare and rancid spectacle is now unfolding at Vancouver's Bloedel Conservatory.

The conservatory's titan arum, better known as a corpse flower, opened on Wednesday, beginning its brief, infrequent bloom.

"Over the next 24 to 48 hours, the bloom will emit its powerful signature odour, described as smelling like rotting fish, sweaty socks and hot garbage, to attract pollinators like flesh flies and carrion beetles," the Vancouver Park Board said in a news release Wednesday.

"After just one or two days, the spathe will close and the bloom will begin to collapse into dormancy once again."

The corpse flower, named Uncle Fester in a poll in 2018, is the first one ever to bloom in B.C., according to the park board.

The plants are native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra and typically take seven to 10 years to bloom for the first time. Then, they can take as long as a decade to bloom again, though some specimens bloom more frequently.

Uncle Fester first bloomed in 2018, attracting large crowds to the conservatory. 

This year, the conservatory will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday to allow "as many visitors as possible" to see the corpse flower in bloom, the park board said.

Tickets for 20-minute visits to the conservatory can be booked on the park board website. 

There is also a livestream of the flower on the park board's YouTube page.