Mitchell Park Domes corpse flower 'Musky' about to bloom

MILWAUKEE - The corpse flower only blooms about once every eight years. People flock to it not for its beauty but its putrid smell!

The plant gets the most attention of any other at the Mitchell Park Domes once it blooms.

FOX6 News stopped by on Thursday, July 13 as they waited for the fourth corpse flower bloom since 2018.

When it blooms, the plant releases a smell that is similar to a rotting corpse.

There is so much beauty inside the Mitchell Park Domes, but that's not how guests described the corpse flower.

"It looks really alien and weird," said one guest. "It looks like it’s from a different planet."

Staff and guests eagerly waited for one of the rarest plants in the place to bloom.

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"I guess it’s like the birth of a baby," said Eric Levin, Mitchell Park Domes. "A stinky baby, definitely."

The corpse flower blooms about once every eight years. At the Domes, they named it "Musky."

"It will flop over and reveal a reddish or burgundy interior, and that’s when it really stinks," said Levin.

The smell is so strong, it's unforgettable to those who have experienced it before.

"It’s pretty awful," said Levin. "It’s not pleasant."

"It’s musky," said Autumn Cutter, visiting from Seattle. "Musky is a good word for it."

"They say it smells like bad meat," said Kurt Schwenk of Waukesha. "To me, it smells like bad meat coated in sugar. It’s just, it’s not a good smell."

Still, there is a fascination with getting up close and taking a whiff.

"When I saw it, my heart skipped a beat," said Jennifer Strehle, visiting from Seattle. "This is the closest I’ve been to one. I’m just going to stand here for 72 hours until it happens."

It's beauty with a bite that sticks with you forever.

"You don’t forget it once you smell it," said Schwenk.

Staff said Thursday the bloom could happen by the weekend. Watch for posts on social media. 

The bloom only lasts for about a day or two.