Advertisement Corpse flower 'Romero' set to unleash a worldly stench in Pittsburgh again Display now open at Phipps Conservatory Share Shares Copy Link Copy

It's baaaack! If you like a flower whose bloom gives off an overwhelming scent of rotting flesh -- and, really, who doesn't? -- Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens has a smelly treat for you.Video: Watch Janelle Hall's reportAmorphophallus titanum, more commonly and descriptively known as the corpse flower given its stench -- nature's con job of attracting the beetles and flies that pollinate it -- is set to bloom in mid-June.The flower, named "Romero," is now on display in the Palm Court where it will remain until it blooms -- an extremely rare event that occurs only every three to seven years. Phipps will offer late-night visitation hours, branded merchandise, and a special membership package for those who want to monitor the progress of the stinky flower. While Phipps horticulturists predict that the corpse flower will grace us with grossness in mid-June, blooming can be very unpredictable. Updates will be offered regularly on Phipps' Twitter and Facebook pages. Details on bloom-time activities will also be posted at phipps.conservatory.org. Photos: Take a look at "Romero" the corpse flowerCombining a healthy dose of the stench of death with a dollop of Pittsburgh culture, the flower is affectionately named Romero in honor of celebrated filmmaker George A. Romero, who knows a thing about rotting flesh given his 1968 zombie cult classic "Night of the Living Dead," which was filmed in Western Pennsylvania. The last time Romero -- the flower, not the filmmaker -- smelled up the place was in August 2013 and more than 12,000 visitors took in its odoriferous bloom over a two-day period, some waiting in line for more than an hour. The 12,032 patrons over two days and 9,233 people in one of those days alone both broke records for Phipps attendance, which says something about us, but exactly what that says remains a little unclear. Unfortunately -- or thankfully depending upon your odor tolerance -- the gut-wrenching stench only lasts during the 12 to 48 hours that the flower is open. But if the smell isn't enough to overpower you, Romero also mimics the sight of rotting meat -- the insides of the bloom are blood red -- and as it blooms, the flower heats up to human body temperature in order to increase the reach of its scent. After that sensational and sensory gift to Pittsburgh, the petals close and the putrid odor fades. In 2013, the flower remained open for 30 hours before the 40-pound, 5-foot-tall plant began to wither. After losing about 50 percent of its weight as it retracted into dormancy, the plant collapsed and was taken from display as it went dormant for about eight months. According to Phipps, it began sending up gargantuan leaf buds that reached up to 12 feet high. The leaves soaked up energy from the sun and stored it underground in an organ called the corm. By last fall, the corm had gone from its dormant weight of 37 lbs. to a whopping 67 lbs., large enough to send up a new bloom, which will grow up to eight feet tall. "A short time after a new bud emerged this spring, we detected a difference from the past leaf buds and began to think he might be ready to produce a flower once again," Margie Radebaugh, director of horticulture and education at Phipps, said in a press release. Phipps horticulturists watched Romero very carefully as it grew in the Production Greenhouse, where the light conditions were ideal. Corpse flowers are native only to Sumatra, Indonesia, and are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Given all of that and, of course, it's other-worldly pungency, Romero is nothing -- or something -- to sniff at.