"The Corpse Flower gets its name from the pungent stench it emits in bloom - this, combined with the flower's huge size and deep purple color, convinced the first explorers who encountered it in Sumatra to believe it was a man-eating plant! Since then, this extremely rare plant has gained celebrity status by having one of the largest, rarest, and smelliest flowers in the world. These flowers can reach heights of 7-10 ft and a diameter of 5-6 ft.

For the next week or so, you can see this incredibly rare and odorous flower for yourself in the Cockrell Butterfly Center! We anticipate that the flower will be in full bloom over the weekend of July 9 - 11. In the meantime, you can follow the plant's extraordinary growth (53 inches and counting!) and get updated predictions for when it will be in full bloom on the HMNS blog."

Live webcam feed of Corpse Flower: Link

Updates on growth: Link

Photos of day by day growth: Link

The Corpse Flower is so rare, only 28 have been known to bloom in the United States, with this being the second in Texas. It's called a Corpse flower because in full bloom, it gives off a smell that some describe as a mix of cooking cabbage and rotting flesh. It gives off this stench for 7-12 hours. It only stays in full bloom for around two days.

I went and saw this earlier today, and man, that thing is HUGE. It hasn't opened yet, but it still is extremely cool. My ticket is good until midnight, so if anything major happens, I will go back to see. I'm gonna go back when it blooms as well, despite the crowds. This is a once in a lifetime oppurtunity!

Are you allowed to take pics? IF so you should

Oh, I completely forgot! I took some! Lemme upload them then I'll post them.

Here they are. We were moving pretty quickly, so these are all i could get:

thats an ugly looking flower. maybe it looks better when it blooms, but right now it looks like a weed

This is what it looks like in full bloom.

It's really cool to see in person though.

That flower is huge. Wish I could see it in person

although seeing it in person means you need either need nose plugs or need to deal with the stench of rotting flesh.

It hasn't begun to smell yet. It will once it opens though. They already have fans on standby for when it does open.

I've worked in emergency medicine for years now. I can handle bad smells like nobodies business