Behold, the rare and repulsive Indonesian Corpse Flower. Taller than a man and reeking worse than road kill, the Corpse Flower is a peculiarly popular plant that originates from the Pacific island of Sumatra, but now sprouts in botanical gardens around the world.

The plant emits sulfurous compounds that are very similar to cadaverene and putrescine, the chemicals spewed by rotting flesh. (I cannot get over how good those names are!) Researchers at UC-David told National Geographic that the noxious fragrance smacks of spoiled fish and cankered pumpkin. And the scent can waft over a half-mile area.

Most of the time, the plant looks and smells like a normal leafy stump. There’s no foul odor, no freakish bulb. But beneath its stock lays a massive underground tuber that once every few years heaves forth the malodorous, tumor-like growth. Once in bloom, the Corpse Flowers can grow 6 inches a day, sometimes reaching a height of 9 feet. That’s when the stench starts flowing.

Its wicked scent is, in fact, a putrid perfume that’s brewed to attract carrion insects. Beetles and flies mistake the Corpse Flower’s purple, fleshy leaves and full-bodied fetor for signs of a real rotting animal. And as the insects flock, they pollinate the plant, allowing for future Corpse Flowers to grow. Evolution is so weird.

A final note: The Corpse Flower – whose scientific name derives from the Greek for huge, shapeless phallus – was the official flower of the Bronx until 2000. Why after 61 years did that honor pass to the Day Lily? Officials realized that a large, foul-smelling plant wasn’t the best mascot for a borough trying to husk its image of being a large, foul-smelling slum. Again, evolution at work!

(Photo: Wikipedia.)