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Puttricia was placed behind a velvet rope in the Sydney Botanic Gardens
An endangered plant known as the ‘corpse flower’ due to its putrid stench is set to bloom in Australia – and has captivated the internet in the process, with thousands already tuning into a livestream ahead of its great start.
The Titan Arum plant, located in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, only flowers once every few years for just 24 hours.
Affectionately nicknamed Puttricia, it will give off an odor described as “wet socks, hot cat food, or rotten possum flesh.”
The long wait and uncertainty over when Puttricia would bloom led to jokes and even unique jargon in the livestream chat, with thousands of people commenting “WWTF” or “We Watch the Flower.”
The current view is not great: Puttricia stands silent and tall in front of a brown curtain, comfortably ensconced behind a red velvet rope. From time to time, a visitor appears in the frame and takes a selfie with the plant.
But once it has flowered, viewers can expect to see Puttricia unfold a vibrant brown or purple skirt, known as a spathe, around its spadix which is the large spike in the middle of the plant.
The Gardens said it was “difficult to predict exactly when” Puttricia would flower, but that didn’t stop thousands of people gathering online.
“I’m back to see how Puttricia is doing and I see she’s still taking her time like the queen she is, fair play,” one commenter wrote. “This is the slowest burlesque ever,” said another.
Another person wrote: “All night I looked, fell asleep, woke up, looked, fell asleep. I am weak, but Puttricia is strong. WWTF. »
Other popular acronyms among viewers are WDNRP (We Do Not Rush Puttricia) and BBTB (Blessed Be The Bloom).
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The titan arum, seen here growing wild in Indonesia, can grow up to 3m tall.
The plant can only be found in the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia, where it is known as bunga bangkai – or “corpse flower” in Indonesian. Its scientific name is Amorphophallus titanum, which comes from ancient Greek and means “deformed giant penis”.
It has the largest floral structure in the world, as it can reach 3 m in height and weigh up to 150 kg. The plant contains several hundred flowers at the base of its spadix.
It is threatened in the wild due to deforestation and land degradation.
Putricia is one of several titan arums at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, which saw their last flowering 15 years ago.
But there have been other corpse flowers in Australia in recent years, notably in the botanical gardens of Melbourne and Adelaide, each time attracting thousands of curious visitors eager to take a whiff.
There are also a few in Kew Gardens in London, where one flowered in June last year. The titan arum first flowered outside Sumatra in 1889 at Kew.
