Fans of the flower – known as Putricia – say they are ‘obsessed’ with the plant, although they have ‘never smelt that before’

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In Sydney, word is spreading: a rare endangered plant named after a deformed penis is beginning to unfurl.

Outside Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden greenhouse on Thursday, a diverse crowd of hundreds has formed. International tourists wait expectantly by families and young, trendy couples. Babies are everywhere.

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Acronyms, in-jokes and online fan clubs spring up as viewers across the globe prepare for Sydney’s first corpse bloom in 15 years – from a safe distance

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In a Sydney greenhouse, a tall pointed flower is about to bloom for the first time in years.

To the scientific community, the Botanic Gardens of Sydney’s corpse flower is known as amorphophallus titanum, which translates to large, deformed penis. But online, the rare endangered plant has taken on a new name: Putricia.

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