Geelong's 'corpse flower' starting to bloom

A rare flower that blooms only once every 10 years has started to open at the Geelong Botanic Gardens, with blooming expected on Monday afternoon.

The Titan Arum, Amorphophallus titanum, commonly known as the ‘corpse flower’ is famous for its rotting, corpse smell when it blooms on the very rare occasion.

Crowds are packing into the conservatory to catch a glimpse of the once-in-a-decade event. (Image: Geelong Broadcasters).

The City of Greater Geelong is opening the conservatory for 24 or until at least Tuesday night so as many people as possible can see and smell the phenomenon.

The corpse plant will only be open for about 24 to 48 hours, before it closes again making this a truly rare event.

A large queue forming at the Botanic Gardens on Monday afternoon. (Image: Geelong Broadcasters).

Council Officers have asked those attending the Botanic Gardens to be patient as plenty of visitors start making their way to the conservatory.

“As the Geelong Botanic Gardens opens its doors for this extraordinary event, we can appreciate the vital role that botanic gardens play in promoting rare and unique plant species,” City of Greater Geelong CEO Ali Wastie said.

“The endangered Titan Arum is the largest species of carrion flower and its preservation is important as the wild population is in decline.

“Since the bloom window is so short, don’t miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime experience and come see it for yourself at the Geelong Botanic Gardens.

“It’s been fantastic to see so many people interested in the Titan Arum and thank you to the thousands of people who have come to visit our iconic gardens in the lead-up to its blossoming.”

For those unable to attend, a live stream of the plant is running on the City of Greater Geelong YouTube channel here.