Get a whiff: 3rd corpse flower blooms at DC’s US Botanic Garden

The third corpse flower started to bloom at the U.S. Botanic Garden Monday evening. (Courtesy U.S. Botanic Garden)

Elliot Norman with the flowers on Aug. 18. (Courtesy U.S. Botanic Garden)

The first of three corpse flowers at the U.S. Botanic Garden started to open Saturday night. (Courtesy U.S. Botanic Garden) — The first of three corpse flowers at the U.S. Botanic Garden started to open earlier this month. (Courtesy U.S. Botanic Garden)

Corpse flower blooms at U.S. Botanical Garden. (Courtesy U.S. Botanic Garden) — The first corpse flower blooms at U.S. Botanical Garden. (Courtesy U.S. Botanic Garden)

Corpse flowers don’t bloom annually — the wait between blooms can be anywhere from a few years to a decade. (Courtesy U.S. Botanic Garden)

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WASHINGTON – The third in a trio of corpse flowers on display at the U.S. Botanic Garden started to bloom Monday evening, bringing with it an unpleasant aroma.

The corpse flower started to open around 6:12 p.m. Monday. The bloom, which stands at about 100 inches, is the largest corpse flower bloom in the U.S. Botanic Garden history, it said.

The two other putrid plants bloomed earlier this month. The Botanic Garden said it’s “unprecedented in North America to have three corpse flowers blooming at the same time in the same proximity at one botanic garden.”

The corpse flower gets its names from the funky fragrance compared to the stench of rotting flesh. When the corpse flower blooms, it releases the odor for roughly six to eight hours. The bloom usually lasts between one and two days.

The Botanic Garden is extending its hours until 10 p.m. Monday so visitors can get a whiff of the flower.

Corpse flowers don’t bloom annually — the wait between blooms can be anywhere from a few years to a decade, the Botanic Garden said.

Watch a live stream of the bloom below: