Smelly Flower In Bloom In St. Louis

The Missouri Botanical Garden says its rare corpse flower is blooming.  
Garden officials say the flower began blooming Thursday evening and will continue into Friday. In the first 24 hours, the plant gives off a rotten smell.  
The bloom will last for about a day and a half but the foul odor mostly diminishes after the first 24 hours. The plant grows up to 6 feet tall and can be up to 3 feet wide.  
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the rare plants don't bloom every year. They store energy in a huge underground stem and can take up to a decade to bloom.  
The Botanical Garden has eight specimens.