The bloom has attracted up to 20,000 admirers who filed past, hoping to experience the smell for themselves, with some attendees describing it as "like death," "like poop," and "like sewage water."

An endangered plant known as the "corpse flower" for its putrid stink is blooming in Australia - and captivating the internet in the process, with thousands already tuned in to a livestream to witness its grand debut. The titan arum plant, housed in the Royal Botanic Gardens of Sydney, blooms only once every few years for just 24 hours.

The flower's Latin name translates as "giant, misshapen penis." But it's better known to locals as "Putricia." Royal Botanical Garden Sydney has even set up a livestream in anticipation.

A rare and revolting spectacle has drawn tens of thousands to Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens, where a foul-smelling flower has finally bloomed.

Known for its smell of putrid, rotting flesh, a Corpse Flower has bloomed for the first time in 15 years at the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney on Thursday (January 23). The botanical gardens chief scientist Brett Summerell explains the reason for the smell and visitors share their impressions of the flower.