Corpse flower Chicago: Rogers Park gardener displays smelly plant in rare bloom

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Talk about a smelly neighbor: A gardener in Chicago's North Side Rogers Park neighborhood is displaying what's known as a "corpse flower" in his front yard. And it's in bloom.

The name comes from the smell the flower has when it blooms, which is similar to rotting flesh.

Normally you see flowers like this in a botanical center. They bloom rarely, but when they do, the flowers give off a foul smell that lasts about 24 to 48 hours.

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The flower is native to rainforests in Indonesia and is formally known as the amorphophallus titanum.

ABC's Raleigh, North Carolina affiliate, WTVD, reported on a blooming corpse flower in August 2019. Its owner, a North Carolina student, described the smell as similar to "driving by roadkill on a really hot day."