World’s Smelliest Flower Set To Bloom in Grand Rapids This Weekend

Shakephere once said, "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet", but I don't think this applies to the flower that is about to bloom at the Frederik Meijer Gardens. In fact, it's name is a pretty accurate discription of what some call the "world's smelliest flower".

The Frederik Meijer Gardens in partnership with GVSU announced that they have a Corpse Flower that is set to bloom this weekend. If you've never heard of or seen these strange giant flowers, they only rarely bloom, and when they do it literally smells like someone died.

According to a release from the Frederik Meijer Gardens, The corpse flower ( or as it's known to scientists, the Amorphophallus titanum) is one of the largest and rarest flowering plants in the world. It has an unpredictable blooming cycle, so that makes each blooming event a notable occurrence. They can live up to 40 years, but it can take up to a decade to produce a flowering structure, and when it blooms is open for only 24 to 36 hours.

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They also smell TERRIBLE. The flower purposefully smells like a rotting corpse in order to attract bugs that would also want to feast on something dead, to help polinate it. GVSU's plant, which was donated in 2015 by GVSU professor Tim Strickler, who was a professor emeritus of biomedical sciences, and it bloomed for the first time just two years ago.

When is the corpse flower at the Frederik Meijer Garden expected to bloom?

If you want your chance to see one of the most rare flowers on the planet, you'll want to to plan your trip for June 14-16, when they expect it to be blooming. Since this is such a rare event, they are encouraging you to pick up tickets ahead of time before you show up on their website to ensure you're able to visit.

If you've got the time this weekend, check out this incredible and weird plant, because it may be a few more years before you get another chance.