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Corpse Flower Inching Closer To Blooming At Chicago Botanic Garden

(CBS) -- The beautiful, six-foot-tall rainforest flower that packs a terrible smell is inching closer to blooming at the Chicago Botanic Garden, in Glencoe. But botanists say it's not quite ready for its moment of late night glory.

Botanic Garden spokesperson Julie McCaffrey said Spike the corpse flower is growing fatter (39 inches), but not taller (still 68 inches since Sunday night); it has begun to attract more flies and its temperature, as of late Tuesday afternoon, was several degrees warmer than the Regenstein Center semi-tropical greenhouse in which it sits.

But the corpse flower, formally known as a "titan arum," has not done two of the things that it normally does in the hours immediately before blooming: It has not begun oozing secretions from the seam of the leaves that surround the flower, known as the spathe. And it usually gives off a minor version of its stench. McCaffery said that would seem to indicate that, as of 7 p.m. Tuesday, it was anywhere from 12 to 48 hours from blooming.

Spike continues to draw big crowds, even without the smell. Approximately 10,000 viewed it over the weekend, bringing the total since it went on display to more than 38,000. The crowds begin to arrive almost as soon as the gates are opened at 7 a.m. and continue past the official 9 p.m. close.

The corpse flower is known for its large size, odd shape and terrible stench. Native to the rainforests of western Sumatra, Indonesia, the titan arum rarely blooms. Those who can do so describe a multi-layered assault on the senses. One of the kinder descriptions is a mixture of limburger cheese, garlic, rotting fish and smelly feet.

Because the odor is strongest in the early hours of the morning, the Garden will be open to visitors until 2 a.m. on bloom day only with parking fees waived after 9 p.m.

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