The gargantuan plant, whose Latin name is Amorphophallus titanium, has grown to a height of more than 4 feet. Whenever the plant, native to Sumatra, has bloomed at the UW greenhouse, it has attracted large crowds of visitors because of its size and pungent smell.
The skirtlike maroon- and green-spathed blossom of the plant, more commonly known as a corpse flower, doesn't last long. Its stench has been compared to the odor of rotting flesh. Still, a blossoming plant becomes a celebrated event.
You can view and sniff it at the conservatory, at the north end of Volunteer Park, off 15th Avenue East, daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.