Rare corpse flower blooms at Harvard's Arnold Arboretum

In a rare spectacle of sight and smell, a corpse flower is in bloom at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.

The Amorphophallus titanum, given a morbid nickname because it smells of rotting meat, is known around the arboretum as Dame Judi Stench. The smell attracts pollinators who feed on rotten meat.

"I would say it reminds me of being in seventh grade, having a gym locker where your socks and your T-shirt for gym were there all year," said Ned Friedman, the arboretum's director and biology professor.

The plant heats up at night, nearly to the temperature of a human body, to throw off a stronger smell for bugs that feed in the evening. The nighttime smell should be "almost gag-inducing," said Friedman.

The Dame's whole display is not a flower. Rather, a large protruding axis shoots out from a fan of purple and green leaves. Hidden inside the leaves are hundreds of small, petal-less flowers. All told, Friedman estimates the plant stands at around five-and-a-half feet tall.

The spectacle is rare, as it takes seven to 12 years to flower. And once it arrives, it only lasts for about two days.

Because of limited space in the greenhouse, only members of the arboretum are able to visit the plant while it is blooming. There is a showing from 4 to 7 p.m. on Monday, which will be the last chance the public has to view the ephemeral bloom. Friedman said visitors who stopped by on Sunday were "fascinated" by the plant.

"For six hours straight, we had lines out the door," said Friedman. "The public just was so enamored with this smelly, but also awesomely beautiful plant."

If you're unable to visit the arboretum in Boston's Jamaica Plain/Roslindale neighborhood for this bloom, a livestream of the plant is available on YouTube. And there's a chance Dame Judi Stench or the arboretum's other corpse flower, Pepe le Pew, could bloom again in a few years.