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Horticulturalists Will Manually Open Corpse Flower 'Spike' Sunday Morning

(CBS) -- Horticulturalists with the Chicago Botanic Garden are expected to open the corpse flower "Spike" Sunday morning.

The Chicago Botanic Garden says at 10 a.m. horticulturalists will remove the spathe and put it on display for the public to admire. They'll harvest any pollen they find for future use.

"We decided it's not going to open," Senior Scientist Pat Herendeen tells CBS 2.

All eyes had been on the "titan arum," which releases a stench that has been described as that of a dead or rotting animal, even dirty socks. But alas, Spike will not bloom this time around -- maybe in another five or 10 years, Herendeen says.

The Chicago Botanic Garden says Spike has drawn more than 50,000 visitors.

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