NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — People usually flock to the Nashville Zoo for all the habitats teaming with life, but this week, it's for a strange looking plant that supposedly smells like death.
"Roadkill, it smells like roadkill," said Kevin Whittlesty, a zoo visitor.
"Smells like a stinky rotten egg," said Sammie Isbell, who came along with her mother.
"I think it smelled like garbage that’s been overdue for a week now," said Brady Johnson, who came to the Zoo Wednesday with his friend.
Obviously, opinions varied on what the corpse flower, they've named Zeus, actually smells like.
"What do you think it smells like?" asked Briana Vogt to her young daughter.
"Poop," replied Charlotte.
"It smelled like a raw piece of steak," said Charlie Gatlin, Brady's friend. "Yea, not good."
Zeus is technically on loan to the zoo from Austin Peay State University. If the name sounds familiar, it's because Zeus bloomed on their campus two years ago, attracting quite the crowd then as well. APSU asked the zoo to house Zeus after they received some storm damage and couldn't safely house the corpse flower while they make repairs.
"It’s 12 years old and it’s only bloomed twice. So that’s pretty miraculous," said David Farrow, the Horticulture Manager for the Nashville Zoo.
Why does it smell?
Farrow says the quirky flower is native to the Indonesian Islands and the smell is actually a clever evolutionary trick. "It broadcasts that smell, that smells like a rotting corpse, to bring in as many pollinators as they can," explained Farrow.
Evidently Indonesia doesn't have a lot of birds and bees, so they rely on a more fitting pollinator for a corpse flower — flies and beetles. The rotting flesh smell beckons them in.
Not a full bloom
Avid corpse flower watchers may have noticed that Zeus never fully opened up into a full bloom. Farrow says temperature and rain fluctuation may have impacted the bloom. He also thinks, since the Nashville Zoo has Zeus on display outside but he was raised in a climate controlled greenhouse, that may have played into the bloom as well.
In fact, when Zeus bloomed two years ago, he was kept in a climate controlled environment. Don't fret though, the smell is still potent without the full bloom.
Better act fast!
Corpse flowers don't bloom for very long, so with each passing hour, the rank smell of the flower is going to fade. In fact, Farrow advises the smell may fade all together by Thursday morning.
"That smell goes in waves guys, so if you hang around long enough you’ll catch the smell of it, and I’ll know because your face will turn," said Farrow.
While the guests may not be able to agree on what Zeus smells like, they can agree that being a witness to this flower of death fills them with life.
"This is the tallest flower I’ve ever seen," said Brady.
"Yea same," chimed in his friend Charlie.
"I’ve always wanted to see, and more importantly, smell one," said Whittlesty.
If you'd rather just watch the corpse flower from the comfort of your own home — you can watch the zoo's live stream here. It will stay up for 24 hours a day until the bloom officially ends.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
