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Its stench is not reminiscent of any one thing. Rather, it offers its own distinct aroma, a bouquet of sweaty feet, rotting fish and boiled cabbage.

Connie Louie smells the Amorphophallus titanum — "corpse flower" — at the Huntington Library gardens in August 2002. (Credit: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Connie Louie smells the Amorphophallus titanum — “corpse flower” — at the Huntington Library gardens in August 2002. (Credit: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

People love it.

We’re talking about the Amorphophallus titanum, known as the corpse flower, and it is expected to unfurl at the Huntington Library botanical gardens any moment now. The bloom watch began on July 25.

While the Huntington greenhouse boasts more than 50 corpse flowers, the plant has bloomed there just five times since 1999. That year, it drew more than 12,000 visitors, according to Huntington spokeswoman Lisa Blackburn. It was the first time a corpse flower had liberated its odeur de death in California.

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