When at Belgium's botanical garden, hold your nose! Corpse flower in bloom

July 9, 2013 at 2:15PM

BRUSSELS — Tourists are lining up in Belgium for the chance to visit a huge, foul-smelling plant.

The national botanical garden was staying open until dusk for a second day Tuesday to give as many people as possible a view of the titan arum — also known as the corpse flower — that's towering over the visitors.

At the heart of the flower a huge column rises upward to the sky and is responsible for the smell that resembles a decomposing animal.

The rare Sumatran plant has now flowered three times since 2008, a feat in itself. At its height this year, it measured 2.44 meters (8 feet). It only flowers for three days, and is expected to wane on Wednesday.

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