Stinky corpse blooming at Houston Museum of Natural Science

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Friday, June 1, 2018
Corpse flower blooms at HMNS
Corpse flower blooms at HMNS

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Mandrake, the stinky corpse flower, is now blooming at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

The museum said the plant is now in bloom and smells like "death."

The stinky flower will be on exhibit starting this weekend.

Known as amorphophallus paeoniifolius, the plant is originally found in Southeast Asia and Australia. It is in the Aroid family and is characterized by its inflorescence, consisting of a fleshy spike of small flowers.

While it takes most corpse flowers between seven and 10 years to bloom, once they do, the bloom lasts for just 24 to 36 hours.