If you’ve ever wondered what a combination of rotting meat, sweaty gym socks, and stale cheese smells like, Brooklyn has the answer. Visitors to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden are buzzing – and plugging their noses – around the rare Amorphophallus gigas, a plant known for its horrid stench.

This flowering marvel, a cousin of the infamous corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum), has finally bloomed for the first time since it arrived at the garden in 2018. Native to Sumatra, the plant’s rotten odor is its secret weapon to lure pollinators, but it’s also drawing curious crowds of humans armed with cameras and bracing for a whiff.

“It smells like feet, cheese, and rotten meat,” said one visitor, Elijah Blades. “It’s disgusting!”

Gardener Chris Sprindis, who spotted the plant’s inflorescence just before New Year’s Eve, noted that the bloom won’t last long. “It’s going to collapse in a few days,” he explained. “And this doesn’t happen every year. It might be several years before it blooms again.”

Across the globe in Sydney, a similar scene unfolded as thousands lined up for hours to catch a glimpse (and a sniff) of a blooming Amorphophallus titanum. That plant hadn’t flowered in 15 years, making it a must-see – or must-smell – event.

The Amorphophallus gigas in Brooklyn is one of just a few of its kind in botanical gardens worldwide. So, if you’re brave enough, now’s your chance to experience the stink before it’s gone!