Famous Brooklyn Stinking Flower Draws a Crowd

We missed the "corpse flower" at its putrid peak on Thursday and Friday, but Gowanus Lounge made a point of seeking it out at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on Saturday. What we found was a huge crowd visiting the BBG to get a look at whiff of the smelly flower, but no smell.

"They opened the windows, so the plant don't smell as much," a security guard at the gate was telling a stinking plant-seeking visitor. (In actuality, the plant only gave off its trademark rotting corpse odor for about eight hours Thursday into Friday.)

Said AP of the event:

It was the first time in 67 years that the odoriferous Amorphophallus titanum bloomed in New York City. The plant began blooming around 2 p.m. Thursday at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. By that evening, it was giving off its signature pungent odor, a smell akin to rotten eggs or garbage left out overnight, that emanated well into Friday morning. But by Friday afternoon, visitors had to get right next to the unusual flower to take the dreadful whiff.

As for catching a whiff, a BBG employee explained that they had been busy pollinating the plant so that they can grow more.

Maybe next time.