D.C. On Edge, Waiting For Corpse Flower, World's Stinkiest Flower, To Bloom

This may be one of only a few times people get excited to see (or smell) a "corpse."

The titan arum, better known as the "corpse flower" -- a/k/a the world's stinkiest flower -- is ready to bloom at the D.C.'s U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory.

Since it's proved difficult, so far, to predict exactly when the purple plant would let its stench loose -- and in honor of the flower's blossoming for the first time since 2007 -- the Botanic Garden has set up a webcam for those who want to keep track of the flower, to check if it is in bloom or to see it in all its glory without the stench.

Streaming by Ustream

The gigantic plant, which was discovered by Europeans in 1878 in Indonesia, gives off an odor that many describe the odor as similar to rotting flesh, and it is meant to attract pollinators like beetles and flesh-flies.

Corpse flowers typically bloom for 24 to 48 hours before closing back up, hiding their stench until the next blooms.

The flower does not have a predictable blooming cycle, so when it does bloom, you may want to hold your nose and take some pictures so your friends don't have to.