People gather in the green. A stench draws them to the back. The crowd grows small but intent.
Amorphophallus titanum blooms.
It stands two and a half meters high. The corpse flower has appeared at Kew for the first time in years. I went there for the smell. It feels less like botany and more like a celebrity sighting. Staff drift by, snap photos, breathe in.
At first the air is clear. Then the waves hit. Putrid. Unignorable.
We compare notes. Acting like stink sommeliers is a role nobody asked for. Leftover washing up, one person guesses. Old cabbage, another insists. Underneath it all lies the classic scent of rotting meat. 🤢
Why do we keep doing this?
These plants are notoriously difficult. They bloom every seven to ten years. You might have missed it. Kew keeps around 15 flower-sized plants, so the door isn’t entirely shut. Just be patient. The smell is worth it.
