Corpse flower

I have yet to see (or more importantly, to smell) a corpse flower! The proper name is titan arum or Amorphophallus titanium, but they are often given individual nicknames. When they bloom - which is rarely - they give off a strong scent of rotting flesh. My sister can testify to this, after bringing her kids to see "Waldo" in Seattle last summer. Other recent bloomers include 6' tall "Titania" in Berkeley, California, in November 2007 (pictured above) and an unnamed individual in Milwaukee in November 2008, which had a webcam focused on it. The dramatic Milwaukee story is told in a great time-lapse video and there are time-lapse photos of the corpse flower that bloomed in Washington, D.C., in 2005. I missed that and missed another bloomer at the Smithsonian in 2003, but I guess I shouldn't feel bad--read what happened to this patient botanist!