Do you smell that?
For the third time in as many summers, Washington State University Vancouver’s infamous corpse flower is expected to bloom again sometime around Monday, July 29.
The plant, named Titan VanCoug, is among the world’s rarest and largest plants; only a few dozen exist in captivity in the United States. The “corpse flower” moniker comes from a unique rotting-flesh-like smell the plant emits during its bloom, which only lasts 24 to 48 hours.
Corpse flowers are only supposed to bloom once every four years once mature, but an over-watering accident years ago caused Titan VanCoug to clone itself into four plants. Now, the four plants all live together — at different stages of the life cycle — with one blooming almost every year.
Last year’s bloom was about 52.5 inches tall; the 2022 bloom peaked at a whopping 69 inches tall.
