A flower that got its nickname from its putrid smell started to bloom on Friday at Dartmouth College for the first time since 2011.
Named Morphy, the titan arum — or corpse flower — began opening at Friday afternoon at the Ivy League college’s Life Sciences Greenhouse. The 7 ½-foot flower is expected to be fully open on Saturday before it starts to collapse on Sunday.
Morphy has a long pointy stalk with a skirt-like covering. It’s green on the outside and deep red on the inside when it opens.
Kim DeLong, the greenhouse manager at Dartmouth, said Morphy was starting to smell like a burning cigar Friday afternoon. At full strength, its odor has been described as a cross between a decaying animal and urine.
