Rare Corpse flower to bloom within 14 days at San Francisco Conservatory

(KRON) — The San Francisco Conservatory is expecting the rare bloom of Scarlet the Corpse flower within the next two weeks.

The flower’s scientific name is Amorphophallus titanum, and it reportedly smells like rotting flesh upon bloom, according to the United States Botanical Garden.

Seeing the flower in its full glory is rare as it only blooms for two to three days every year or so. It can sometimes bloom as rarely as once every seven to ten years.

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The SF Conservatory explained how the botanical team knows the bloom is on the way:

“At the center of the bud is a pale green, folded area peeking through. That’s the underside of the burgundy skirt (spathe) that opens up when it blooms!” — San Francisco Conservatory

The Corpse flower has had some popularity in film and television, most notably in the 1993 film “Dennis the Menace.” The species is considered endangered, as there are fewer than 1,000 of them growing in the wild, according to the USBG. Current estimates show that the population of the species has declined by over 50% in the past 150 years.