Giant Corpse Flower Morticia to bloom soon at Moody Gardens

Monday, Friday closing hours extended to 8 p.m.

GALVESTON – What’s the stink about at Moody Gardens? There’s a rare Giant Corpse Flower blooming for a second time in Galveston. 

It’s expected to bring lots of visitors in the coming days. The flower is named “Morticia!”  Its name comes from the smell it puts off during flowering. People say the strong odor is comparable to the smell of rotting flesh.

Morticia is expected to bloom Friday. Moody Gardens is staying open late -- until 8 p.m. -- to give people ample time to experience the smell. 

Watch the smelly flower on the Moody Gardens Rainforest Pyramid webcam.

The last time the flower bloomed at Moody Gardens was in 2012.

Visitor, Jim Crosby, said, "I've heard about how bad they smell but I was just told that they smell like a corpse.  Like something that was rotting.  I don't imagine I want to be around when it blooms!"

That stink attracts pollinators. It also attracts a crowd. 

"There's only a little over 100 that have ever bloomed in the U.S. This is our second bloom.  It's exciting the first time.  It's absolutely thrilling the second time!  It's a once in a lifetime experience!  Not something you see every day!” Donnita Brannon of Moody Gardens said,

The plant can reach heights of more than 10 feet tall.

They can take from two to 10 years to bloom, if ever. Morticia could reach full bloom and full stink in just a week to ten days. Moody Gardens plans to stay open for extended hours once the flower fully blooms. Moody Gardens promises it will be a smell so strong that it reaches beyond the glass pyramid.

This latest bloom is only the fifth in Texas.