'The Smelliest Plant in the World' Blooms in London's Kew Gardens

June 18 marked a “a momentous day for bad-smelling plants” as two of the “world’s rarest and smelliest plants” flowered simultaneously at London’s Kew Gardens.

Both the Aristolochia goldieana and the Titan arum, also known the corpse flower due to its strong odour, were in bloom at the garden at the same time.

“Each plant takes several years to produce a flower that can grow up to 3m in height, and is then in bloom for less than 48 hours,” the garden said.

The corpse flower blooms once “every few years,” with pollen typically being hand collected and distributed by staff using paintbrushes.

Titan arum was expected to be in flower for two to three days and the Aristolochia goldieana flower was expected to be in flower for three days.

The scent of the Aristolochia goldieana’s foliage was described by the garden as: “bitter and of chemicals, while the flowers smell like a garbage heap in high summer.” Credit: RBG Kew via Storyful