HOUSTON — You may want to pack some nose plugs if you're visiting the Houston Museum of Natural Science this weekend.
That’s because the museum is warning that their corpse flower nicknamed ‘Meg’ is about to bloom. Corpse flowers get their name because when they bloom, they smell like rotting flesh.
Meg is expected to bloom in the next week or so.
Even though it’s called a corpse flower, the museum says it’s actually made of many flowers which are arranged on a spike, or a ‘spadix.’ Museum officials are keeping an eye on the temperature of the spadix, which can give an indication of when it’s ready to bloom. Another indicator – when the bracts at the bottom of the plants fall off and the growth slows.
When it does bloom, the smell comes out, according to the museum.
You can learn a whole lot more about ‘Meg’ on the Houston Museum of Natural Science website.
And if you want to see what a corpse flower blooming looks like, here's a time lapse.