Crowds gather for rare corpse flower bloom in Missouri garden

The Missouri Botanical Garden extended its hours last night to showcase a rare blooming of its corpse flower, Octavia, known for its pungent odor.

Octavia, the largest flower in the garden's living collection, is in bloom for the fifth time, drawing crowds eager to experience its infamous stench.

The corpse flower, also known as titan arum, is famous for its rotten smell, which it uses to attract pollinators such as flies and beetles.

The bloom of a corpse flower is a rare event, lasting less than 24 hours, making it a unique attraction for visitors.

Regular visiting hours have resumed today, allowing more people the opportunity to see and smell Octavia before the bloom fades.

Visitors to the Missouri Botanical Garden have a limited time to witness Octavia's bloom, an event that continues to captivate and intrigue both plant enthusiasts and the general public.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KTVI. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KTVI staff before being published.