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Key Points
- Sydney’s corpse flower Putricia is on display at the Royal Botanic Garden.
- It will only bloom for about 24 hours before dying.
- Thousands of people are watching Putricia’s live stream on YouTube.
The big moment could be on Monday night or the following day, according to horticulturalists at the botanic gardens, who have set up a dedicated display for Putricia, with a warm mister, for tens of thousands of visitors to attend.
Once it blooms, the gardens will remain open until midnight to accommodate additional visitors.
What is the corpse flower?
Horticulturalists said the spike in the centre of the rare and endangered flower measures 158cm and is still growing. Once it stops growing, the petals will begin to open.
The corpse flower is native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Source: AAP / George Chan / SOPA Images/ Sipa USA
When the flower blooms, it emits a strong stench to attract pollinators like beetles and flies, which mistake the odour for that of a rotting animal and lay their eggs in it.
“It’s actually stunningly beautiful as well.”
‘The unproblematic queen’
Both Melbourne and Geelong Botanic Gardens had corpse flower blooms last year as growers worldwide work to prevent the plant from extinction.
