A rare plant known as the corpse flower bloomed in Sydney on Friday for the first time in more than a decade, emitting an odour likened to rotting flesh and delighting thousands who queued for a whiff.

Thousands queue in Sydney to see and smell a corpse flower bloom for the first time in 15 years :::: Sydney, Australia:: Rony Varghese, Sydney resident:: "Probably close to, like rotten egg, or like something of like sulfur,

Dubbed Putricia, the titan arum plant emits a putrid smell likened to "something rotting" or "hot garbage" for 24 hours after blooming. The smell is the result of a chemical production that happens in the plant to attract pollinators.

The corpse flower exudes a fragrance evoking gym socks and rotting garbage, in the 24 hours that it blooms.

Tall, pointed and smelly, the corpse flower is scientifically known as amorphophallus titanum — or bunga bangkai in Indonesia, where the plants are found in the Sumatran rainforest.