A rare flower in bloom

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campus experience 0:22 A rare flower in bloom

By:

Clark Dehart

17 Jul 2025 1885

Stinky Phil, the name of the beloved corpse plant in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has once again blossomed, which only occurs once every five to ten years. Corpse plant flowers smell unpleasant, attracting flies and beetles on its native island of Sumatra to pollinate the enormous inflorescence.

This is Stinky Phil, Virginia Tech's resident corpse plant. The flower only lasts two to three days, and it produces a pungent smell to attract pollinators. It may be five to ten years before it flowers again.

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