New York Daily News

Ahh, ‘death’ is in bloom

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THIS PLANT exhibit is making a big stink — and you’d better hurry up and get a whiff of it while you still can.

The rare corpse flower — which yes, gets its name because it gives off a stench of rotting flesh — began blooming at the New York Botanical Garden Thursday night, a full decade after it was first potted.

Once word spread that the fetid flora would only be in peak bloom for a brief 36-hour window, horticultu­ralists and curiosity seekers raced to the Bronx on Friday, where the garden extended its visiting hours.

Lines of visitors stretched down the walkway to the Enid A. Haupt Conservato­ry, waiting to catch a glimpse — and a sniff. They weren’t disappoint­ed. “I can’t say that I’ve smelled dead bodies before,” admitted Jade Cassady, 34, a Hell’s Kitchen teacher. “It smells more like you’re riding on a bike behind a dump truck.”

The enormous plant native to Indonesia can tower up to 12 feet in height in its natural habitat. It relies on flies to pollinate and attracts them by smelling like a dead body.

 ?? Nicole Lyn Pesce and Adam Shrier ?? Crowds flock to see the corpse flower at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, where giant bloom is treated like a celebrity.
Nicole Lyn Pesce and Adam Shrier Crowds flock to see the corpse flower at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, where giant bloom is treated like a celebrity.

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