Something at Temple University’s Ambler campus smelled like death this week, and hundreds of people showed up for it anyway, writes Mike Newell for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

A rare “corpse flower,” formally known as Amorphophallus titanum, bloomed inside the university’s greenhouse complex. Curious visitors came from across the region, eager to experience one of nature’s strangest spectacles.

Nicknamed “Little Stinker,” the towering tropical plant emits an odor so foul it has been compared to rotting flesh, dead animals, sweaty gym socks, and garbage. The stench is no accident: in the wild rainforests of Sumatra, corpse flowers weaponize their revolting smell to lure the flies and beetles that pollinate them.

“In the rainforest you can smell them up to a half a mile away,” said greenhouse manager Benjamin Snyder, who has earned something of a reputation as Temple Ambler’s resident corpse flower whisperer.

More than 500 visitors poured into the greenhouse during the brief bloom window, many arriving with cameras ready and noses braced, reacting with a mixture of awe, laughter, and barely concealed disgust.

The bloom itself is a once-in-a-decade event. Corpse flowers can spend seven to 10 years building toward their first bloom, and when they finally open, the spectacle lasts a mere 24 to 36 hours before it’s over. Temple’s beloved Little Stinker, now 11 years old and standing just over four feet tall, last bloomed in 2021, making this week’s performance its long-awaited encore.

The plant has quietly become one of Montgomery County’s more unlikely attractions. Temple Ambler’s greenhouse cultivates a collection of 12 corpse flowers alongside other rare tropical species, offering visitors a close encounter with some of the botanical world’s most extraordinary oddities.

For those willing to brave the smell, the reward is witnessing a floral event that most people will never see twice.

To learn more about the tropical flower emanating in Ambler, visit The Philadelphia Inquirer.