Corpse Flower, Rare Titan Arum, Stinkin' Up Washington DC With Rotting Meat Scent- Watch Livestream Here

A corpse flower, a rare, weird plant that smells like rotting meat is stinkin' up Washington D.C.
For once, something besides political corruption is making Capital Hill smelly. The corpse flower,which smells like decaying flesh, is in bloom. The rare plant is a titan arum, or corpse flower.
The royal baby is not the only new arrival...there's also the corpse flower. It is a decidedly different breed than Kate and Will's new baby.
The smell comes from sulfur-producing chemicals in the corpse flower's leaves.
Corpse flowers are native to the Indonesian rainforest...but there's one in the nation's capital right now.
And, if you missed the corpse flower in DC, there's another titan arum on the West Coast in Santa Barbara that's expected to bloom soon. The greenhouse at University of California Santa Barbara houses the flower, and the UCSB greenhouse will be open to the public when it blooms.
The corpse flower is currently about four feet tall and growing rapidly.
Tourists have come in droves to see the corpse flower at the United States Botanic Garden, according to officials.
The titan arum is also among the world's largest plants. It's eight feet tall and smells like decomposing flesh. This is an evolutionary strategy and is to attract dung beetles and other pollinators. The flower relies on dung beetles and flies, unlike most flowers.

The corpse flower began blooming Sunday at the United States Botanic Garden, and it may only be open for about 24 to 48 hours.
"Then it will collapse quickly," said the Botanic Garden. They're currently broadcasting the flower-and the crowds-on the Internet.
The titan arum plant blooms unpredictably-it may happen every few years or every few decades. And it requires a lot of babysitting, despite smelling like something that no longer has hope of, well, life.
"The plant requires very special conditions, including warm day and night temperatures and high humidity, making Botanic Gardens well suited to support this strange plant outside of its natural range," the garden said.
The plant was first found by Western scientists in 1878. One bloomed at the U.S. Botanic Garden in 2007, but not since then.
Almost 100,000 people have come this time. "We have had more than 98,000 people come visit from July 11 through July 21... unbelievable number of people!" garden spokeswoman Laura Condeluci told press.
Some of the stench had already passed-and visitors who waited in long lines in the heat were a bit disappointed by this.
"Not nearly as smelly as I had hoped," tweeted one visitor.

View a livestream of the plant here
Unfortunately, you'll need to cover your keyboard with rotting meat for the full effect.