A giant rare flower is emitting a stench of rotting flesh after blooming overnight.
The titan arum at Kew Gardens, in west London, will keep its smelly bloom for only one or two days.
Commonly known as the "corpse flower" by Indonesians in its native Sumatra, the blood-red flower is 2.11m tall and last bloomed at Kew in 2003.
The stench, likened by one visitor to "dirty nappies", attracts the insects needed to pollinate the flower.
The plant, Latin name Amorphophallus titanum, is believed to be the largest flower in the world.
It is renowned for its hideous smell which is said to be a cross between burnt sugar and rotting flesh.
For the past few weeks the shoot grew about 10cm a day until the plant slowly opened up like an upturned umbrella. |