‘We watch the flower’: Thousands of people wait for the stinking plant’s rare bloom

An endangered plant known as the “corpse flower” due to its putrid odor is about to bloom in Australia – and is taking over the Internet in the process, with thousands of people tuning in to the livestream ahead of its grand debut.

The Titan Arum plant, located in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens, blooms only once every few years for only 24 hours.

Affectionately called Putricia, it will smell like “wet socks, warm cat food, or rotting possum meat.”

The long wait – and uncertainty as to when Putricia will bloom – has given rise to jokes and even a unique language in the livestream’s chat, with thousands of people commenting “WWTF”, or “We watch the flower”.

The present scene is not much: Putricia stands silent and tall in front of a brown curtain, seated comfortably behind a red velvet rope. Sometimes, when a visitor takes a selfie with the plant it comes into the frame.

But once she’s in bloom, viewers can expect to see Putricia spreading a vibrant maroon or crimson skirt around her spadix, known as a spathe, which is the large plant in the middle of the plant. There is a spike.

The Gardens have said that “it is difficult to predict when putricia will bloom”, but that has not stopped thousands of people gathering online.

One commenter wrote, “I’ve come back again to see how Putricia is doing and I can see she’s still taking her time like the queen she is.” “This is the slowest burlesque ever,” said another.

Yet another person wrote: “All night long I watched, slept, woke, watched, slept. I’m weak, but Putricia is strong. WWTF.”

Other popular acronyms among viewers are WDNRP (We Don’t Rush Putricia) and BBTB (Blessed Be the Bloom).

This plant can only be found in the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia, where it is known as bunga bangkai – or “corpse flower” in Indonesian. Its scientific name is Amorphophallus titanum, which is derived from the Latin words for “huge”, “misshapen” and “penis”.

It has the largest floral structure in the world, as it can grow up to 3 meters (10 ft) tall and weigh up to 150 kilograms. The base of the plant’s spadix contains several hundred flowers.

It is endangered in the wild due to deforestation and land degradation.

Putricia is one of several Titan Arms at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, with a flower last seen in bloom 15 years ago.

But in recent years other dead flowers have bloomed across Australia, including in the botanic gardens of Melbourne and Adelaide, each time attracting thousands of curious visitors keen to see it.

Some are also located in Kew Gardens, London, where One bloomed in June last year. The Titan Arum first flowered in 1889 at Kew, outside Sumatra.