Worlds biggest flower blooms in Germany

Thousands flocked to Bonn University’s Botanical Gardens last week as one of its prized Titan Arums entered a brief period of blossoming. The bloom's odour is reminiscent of rotting flesh, earning it the nickname "corpse flower."

Researchers at the Botanical Gardens have speeded up video footage to reveal how it blossoms.

Biologist Erwin Grill said: "People want to know if it really does smell as badly as its reputation, and I can tell you it does. It’s something like the smelling of rotting carcasses."

YouTube link.

The Bonn University flower, which is native to Sumatra, was entered into the Guinness Book of Records in 2003 as the tallest bloom in cultivation, having reached 8ft 11in high. It has since been beaten by one on display at Winnipesaukee Orchids in Gilford, New Hampshire, US, which measured 10ft 2in.