A corpse flower has bloomed in South Australia's Mount Lofty Botanic Garden [2]. Known for its size, striking appearance and its stench, its botanic name is the Titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum [3]). The plant is native to Indonesia's Sumatra island, where its common name is bibunga bangkai, meaning carrion plant or corpse flower.
Despite the repulsive odour, thousands have waited patiently in line to experience its brief opening. It may not happen again for up to seven years. News had spread quickly:
Thousands Of People Are Lining Up To See A Flower That Smells Like Death https://t.co/qATOFxR435 [4] @lanesainty [5] pic.twitter.com/hS0k5mm59Q [6]
— BuzzFeed Australia (@BuzzFeedOz) December 29, 2015 [7]
Even the police got in on the act:
Motorists are advised there is heavy traffic around #Piccadilly [8] as people flock to see #stinkyflower [9] @BotGardensSA [10] https://t.co/bbrcuECAGq [11]
— SA Police News (@SAPoliceNews) December 29, 2015 [12]
Natalie Whiting captured some of the curious crowd on video:
Hundreds line to see #corpseflower [13] at @BotGardensSA [10] in #adelaide [14]. @amworldtodaypm [15] @abcnewsAdelaide [16] pic.twitter.com/tXIiGRXR9p [17]
— Natalie Whiting (@Nat_Whiting) December 29, 2015 [18]
Even Britain's Telegraph joined the flower power, as did BBC News [19]:
Thousands queue to smell flesh-odoured corpse flower which blooms every 1000 days https://t.co/1ORFXUuNeC [20] pic.twitter.com/ZSt1tepXtM [21]
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) December 29, 2015 [22]
No wonder Tom Chladek, the photographer @botgardenssa, was enjoying the attention:
Unfortunately, any possibility of extending access into a second day was dashed by the summer bushfire season:
#MountLofty [24] Botanic Garden will be closed Wed 30 December due to “Severe” fire danger rating. More info at https://t.co/HpC69AnODx [25]. @SADEWNR [26]
— Botanic Gardens SA (@BotGardensSA) December 29, 2015 [27]