When’s the last time you heard of thousands of visitors waiting their turn to smell rotten flesh?
It happened during the last weekend in June at Indiana University, when a corpse flower named Wally bloomed.
According to the school’s social media posts for the biology greenhouse on the Bloomington campus, Wally’s still very busy. (Or at least, someone is — recent posts have been in the voice of the rare tropical plant.)
“Just because I’m done blooming doesn’t mean I’m done being fabulous!” “Wally’s” post on Monday, June 30 announced. “My leaf cycle is just as impressive (minus the smell), and I’ll let you know when that starts up again too.”
Wally’s done blooming for this cycle, but visitors can still visit the greenhouse to see this and other rare plants from 7:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Monday through Friday at 1001 E. Third St. in Bloomington.
What is a corpse flower? Why does it smell so bad?
The Amorphophallus titanium flower is more commonly known as the corpse flower. Corpse flowers bloom every few years and last around two days, creating a rare and spectacular event for IU’s greenhouse.
The plant grows from an underground stem that stores food known as corm. When the plant has gathered enough energy it blooms, releasing an odor that can be best described as rotting flesh.
According to the United States Botanic Garden, the purpose of the plant’s scent and the heat it generates is to attract pollinators over longer distances.
About Wally the corpse flower
The smelly corpse flower plant in Indiana University’s greenhouse was donated by Gred Spiechert, former director of the Hilltop Garden and Nature Center in 2007. It was named after Wallace “Wally” Scales, the greenhouse’s first manager.
When did Wally, IU’s corpse flower, last bloom in Indiana?
Wally bloomed the last weekend in June in 2025.
Wally first bloomed in 2016 and attracted almost 6,000 people. The next two blooms happened in 2020 and 2023.
Two out of the three times the plant has blossomed has been in summer. The only exception is 2020, but even then, the greenhouse temperatures were in the high 80s.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Something stinks at Indiana University. When does the rare corpse flower bloom again?
Reporting by Jenny Porter Tilley and Deshna Venkatachalam, USA TODAY NETWORK / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
