GRAND RAPIDS (WKZO AM/FM) — It’s the flower that everyone had to smell to believe at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids.
The smell was described as rotten eggs, rotten potatoes, roadkill, trash, dog breath, and so many others stinky explanations.
Whatever it smells like, it took 18 years for “Putricia” to bloom and many waited in line for hours Thursday to see and smell it for themselves.
The rare find is a “Titum Arum” or better known as a corpse flower which attracts insects with its unpleasant smell.
The plant usually grows as tall as a typical human and is known as one of the worst-smelling flowers in the world.
Kent County Medical Examiner Stephen Cohle, who has worked with many real corpses, says the flower smells like a body that was left it a hot apartment for weeks.
But sadly, Putricia will have a death of her own.
Horticulturists say Thursday was the best day to see the flower, and it will start to close Friday evening.
It’s not expected to bloom again for about 3 to 5 years.
