Story at a glance
- A nursery owner of rare flowers is sharing his blooming corpse flower with the public.
- People in the San Francisco Bay Area are trekking to an abandoned gas station to see the rare flower.
- The corpse flower was named for its foul, unusual odor, which has been compared to the smell of decomposing flesh.
More than 1,000 people have already trekked to an abandoned gas station in the San Francisco Bay Area to catch a glimpse — and take a whiff — of a rare corpse flower.
Named for its unique odor, which has been compared to that of decomposing flesh, the corpse flower is causing lines circling the block for the chance to see one in person.
It started with Alameda nursery owner Solomon Leyva, who specializes in rare plants, posting photos and updates on his blooming corpse flower, also called the amorphophallus titanum. The high level of interest and attention it garnered convinced Leyva to offer the chance for the public to witness the rare beauty in person.
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“I grabbed my wagon, went down to my greenhouse, put it in with the help of a friend of mine, dragged it down here to this abandoned building and people just started showing up,” Leyva said.
“Everyone is commenting to me that the last time they’ve seen this was in San Francisco, and there was a barrier, and they had to wait for hours, and they weren’t allowed to get near it,” Leyva added. “I think everyone’s tripping out that they can walk up and wiggle it and smell it.”
According to the U.S. Botanic Garden, less than 1,000 corpse flowers exist in the wild, which are native to rainforests in Indonesia.
Taking a decade to bloom, the corpse flower can reach up to 12 feet tall, emitting its foul odor at peak bloom and then dying a few days following.
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