Photo by Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.
CLEVELAND -- For the third time in 18 years, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's titan arum plant known as the "corpse flower" is blooming.
The Cleveland Zoo is one of only a few dozen locations in the country to successfully nurture the corpse flower -- Cronus -- to full bloom.
According to zoo officials, the Cronus is one of the largest flowering plants in the world and can grow up to 10 feet tall. Their pungent bloom typically lasts only 24 hours and has a distinctive rotting meat scent, which is thought to be an adaptation used to attract its main pollinators in the wild.
The Cleveland Zoo's corpse flower first bloomed in July 2007 after it was obtained in 1994 from the National Aquarium in Baltimore.
WKYC-TV