One year on from Putricia’s bloom, Adelaide is officially on corpse flower watch.
One of the world’s rarest (and stinkiest) flowers is growing fast at Adelaide Botanic Garden, and its long-awaited bloom could happen any day now.
A giant titan arum, affectionately nicknamed ‘Smellanie’, is rapidly approaching bloom at Adelaide Botanic Garden , and horticulturists are bracing for crowds in the thousands once it finally opens.
The notoriously foul-smelling plant, officially known as Amorphophallus titanum, but more commonly known as a corpse flower, has surged to an eye-watering 191 centimetres tall, growing another six centimetres in a single day. With daily updates, livestreams and mounting hype across social media, anticipation is reaching fever pitch.
And when it blooms, it will not be subtle.
Why this bloom is such a big deal
Corpse flowers are famous for two things: their enormous size and their powerful odour, often likened to rotting flesh. The smell is strongest during the first 24 hours of flowering and is designed to attract pollinating insects in the wild.
The catch? This spectacle only lasts one to two days, and the plant can take 15+ years between blooms, making each flowering a genuine once-in-a-blue-moon event.
According to the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium of South Australia, fewer than 1000 corpse flowers remain in the wild in Sumatra. That rarity, combined with the plant’s brief flowering window, means cultivated blooms like this one are closely watched around the world.
Thousands expected to visit
When Smellanie finally opens, Adelaide Botanic Garden expects huge crowds, with visitor numbers potentially surging into the tens of thousands over just a few days.
Adelaide isn’t the first Australian city to be swept up in corpse flower mania. In 2025, Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden drew massive crowds when its corpse flower ‘Putricia’ bloomed, sparking long queues, livestreams and wall-to-wall media coverage.
The flower is housed inside the Bicentennial Conservatory, where staff are preparing for long queues, peak-time congestion and a wave of curious locals, tourists, families and plant obsessives eager to experience the bloom in person.
The Garden has confirmed that viewing will be free, with visitors able to queue daily while the flower is in bloom. Staff will manage crowd flow, and those unable to attend in person can follow along via a livestream and social updates .
Will today be the day?
As of the latest update, Smellanie has not yet bloomed, but all signs suggest it is getting close.
“Will Monday be the day?" the garden teased on Instagram, as fans tuned in from around the country to watch the plant’s progress centimetre by centimetre.
Once the outer sheath starts to loosen and the central spike opens, things move quickly. The smell intensifies, the crowds swell, and Adelaide gets a very short window to witness one of nature’s strangest spectacles.
What to know before you go
Planning to join the queue? Here’s what to expect:
- The smell is strongest during the first 24 hours of flowering
- Blooming typically lasts between 24 and 48 hours
- Viewing takes place inside the Bicentennial Conservatory
- Entry is free, but wait times are likely during peak periods
- Livestreams are available for those who can’t attend in person
More than just a novelty
While the corpse flower’s stench tends to steal the spotlight, the bloom is also a significant conservation milestone.
Adelaide Botanic Garden has been cultivating titan arums since 2006, helping to safeguard the species through careful horticulture, research and propagation. Each successful bloom offers valuable insight into a plant that remains poorly understood in the wild.
Still, let’s be honest. Most people are coming for the smell. When Smellanie finally blooms, Adelaide will briefly become home to one of the most talked-about flowers on Earth. Blink and you’ll miss it. Hold your nose and you won’t.
