Rare corpse flower set to bloom at UC Santa Cruz

A corpse flower is expected to bloom at the University of California, Santa Cruz this week. The rare plant is native to Sumatra, Indonesia. This particular corpse flower bloomed for the first time in 2022. Staff at the arboretum say it s budding and expect it to bloom this week. When it blooms, the plant emits a rotten flesh smell to lure bugs deep into the plant so pollen will stick to them. Although the plant hasn t bloomed yet, people are flocking to the UC Santa Cruz campus to check it out. The arboretum is selling T-shirts that say, I sniffed the UCSC Arboretum corpse flower. The arboretum will let the public know on social media when the flower blooms and will extend viewing hours that day.