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A rare blooming of a corpse flower, affectionately nicknamed Putricia, has drawn thousands of visitors to Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden.
The plant, known scientifically as amorphophallus titanum, emits a pungent odour reminiscent of rotting flesh, gym socks, and garbage.
This unusual fragrance, however, hasn’t deterred the plant’s devoted fans, or “Putricians,” who lined up to witness the momentous bloom.
Putricia, a portmanteau of “putrid” and “Patricia,” stands tall and pointed against a gothic purple backdrop, enhanced by a misting humidifier.
This is the first corpse flower blooming at the garden in 15 years. In the wild, these plants bloom only every seven to 10 years, making this a truly special event.
Over 13,000 admirers have already filed past to experience Putricia’s unique, if somewhat unpleasant, presence.
“The fact that they open very rarely, so they flower rarely, is obviously something that puts them at a little bit of a disadvantage in the wild,” said garden spokesperson Sophie Daniel, who designed Putricia’s kooky and funereal display. “When they open, they have to hope that another flower is open nearby, because they can’t self-pollinate.”
There are thought to be only 300 of the plants in the wild and fewer than 1,000 worldwide — including those in cultivation. Among them is Putricia, which arrived at the garden seven years ago.
When her flower was spotted in December she was just 25 centimeters (10 inches) high. By Thursday, she was 1.6 meters (5 feet 3 inches) tall -– and her flower spike was slowly opening like a pleated skirt around a majestic central tuber, the yellow-green outer curling to reveal a burgundy center.
As excitement grew in Sydney about the moment of her bloom, garden staff erected crowd barriers, giving the Victorian greenhouse the air of a rock concert. Fans trod a red carpet to view Putricia from behind velvet ropes in a display inspired by Queen Victoria’s funeral, the Rocky Horror Picture Show and the oeuvre of the late director David Lynch.
Inside, fans took selfies and leaned in for a sniff — an increasingly perilous prospect as Putricia’s odor developed. One young woman raised her hands and bowed as though in worship. On social media, garden staff performed a viral dance to Chappell Roan’s summer hit HOT TO GO! against a backdrop of the stately plant.
It was difficult to say why the regal, mysterious and stinky flower had attracted such a following -– but perhaps the answer lay in the “reverence” viewers felt in the presence of “such an amazing living being,” Daniel said.
Along with her real-life visitors, Putricia’s online fandom has been rapid, global and deeply strange -– if much less smelly. A 24/7 live stream established by the botanic garden drew close to a million views in less than a week and a shared language of memes and inside jokes sprang up.
Frequently deployed acronyms included WWTF, or we watch the flower, WDNRP — we do not rush Putricia – and BBTB, or blessed be the bloom. “Putricia is a metaphor for my life,” wrote one poster, who did not elaborate.
Commenters on social media made plans to hurry to the garden as the plant opened. In just 24 hours, Putricia’s bloom -– and her stench -– would be gone.
As she unfurled, Putricia would heat to 37 degrees Celsius (100 F) to better spread her scent, Daniel said, attracting flies and carrion beetles to burrow inside and lay eggs. Then, work will begin to hand-pollinate the plant in efforts to ensure the species’ diversity and survival.
But first, thousands of Putricians will attempt to get as close as they can to their hero of a week.
“We did have a few conversations early on about whether or not we should have vomit bags in the room,” said Daniel, adding that garden staff ultimately decided against it. “I haven’t heard of anyone actually being harmed.”
