'Bizarre' Cambridge plant emits 'Brussels sprouts' smell
- Published
Visitors to a university garden have been warned to expect a "bizarre and unique" orchid to emit a smell of rotting cabbages and Brussels sprouts.
Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis is due to bloom at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden by Monday.
Alex Summers, glasshouse supervisor, said the smell of the rotting vegetables "challenges our general idea of what a flower is".
The plant, originally from Asia, flowers every three to four years.
The Botanic Garden's specimen is suspended over a pool in the wetlands house and "the smell oscillates so it gets stronger and weaker at different times", Mr Summers said.
The aroma comes from "mimicking something that is rotting, and it is doing that to attract carrion flies, which are insects that feed on rotting meat and vegetables" he added.
He expected it to be fully open and at its "best" on Monday afternoon.
The garden's Titan Arum plant bloomed in June 2017, attracted hundreds of visitors to smell an aroma which is akin to rotting flesh.
The horticulturalist said it will not be as strong as that, but will prove popular with visitors as "we all expect flowers to smell nice".
"I think it's exotic - different - as it challenges our general idea of what a flower is," he said.
The plant is about 10 years old, is expected to survive for another 50 years and flower every three to four years.
"It is such a bizarre and unique species and it is completely different to anything I have seen before."
The garden is open from 10:00 to 16:00 on Sunday and Monday and will then be closed until 2 January.
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