Legendary Corpse Flower To Bloom At Phipps Conservatory

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens has changed its hours in anticipation of a very smelly event.

Romero, the corpse flower, will soon be blooming -- a rare event that only lasts about 12-48 hours.

The flower is famous for the overwhelmingly foul stench it produces when in bloom. It does this in order to attract the beetles and flies that pollinate it. The flower is named after filmmaker George A. Romero, whose 1968 cult classic "Night of the Living Dead" was filmed in and around Pittsburgh.

The corpse flower is expected to bloom before the end of June. Starting Sat., June 4, Phipps will be open until 8 p.m. daily, and until 10 p.m. on Fridays, to make sure people have a chance to breathe in Romero's majesty.

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People who witnessed the legendary flower bloom in 2013 described the intense odor.

"I just heard somebody say cheese. I've heard wet gym socks. I kind of think it reminds me of the smell you see when you drive by a dead deer along the road," Curator of Horticulture Ben Dunigan said.