An endangered tropical plant that emits the stench of a rotting corpse during its rare blooms has begun to flower in a greenhouse in Sydney.

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.

The corpse flower at the Royal Sydney Botanic Garden—nicknamed Putricia, a combination of putrid and Patricia —is drawing an enormous crowd. People are waiting three hours to see her bloom and get a whiff, with 20,000 fans having visited the plant so far.