Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 15 (UPI) -- Officials with the University of North Carolina Charlotte said a rare plant in its greenhouse with an odor resembling rotting flesh is about to bloom. Biology professor Larry Mellichamp, director of the campus botanical garden, including the McMillan Greenhouse, said the Amorphophallus titanium plant, known as "the corpse plant" for its smell and nicknamed Bella by the school, is expected to bloom for three days starting July 1, releasing its signature stench into the greenhouse, the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer reported Tuesday. Advertisement "On the morning that the bloom opens, you'll know it from a quarter-mile away," Mellichamp said. "That's when we'll have 'The Big Stink.' It'll throw this awful odor, trying to attract beetles and flies to bring it pollen." The plant, native to Sumatra, Indonesia, was 3-years-old when it was obtained by the university in 2001 and bloomed for the first time three years ago, bringing about 4,000 plant enthusiasts to view the event.
