Stink,Stank,Stunk

When I first read about the corpse flower blooming at a library in California I wondered why a library had the flower and why it was a popular exhibit when it is in bloom. First of all the term library is used rather loosely when applied to the Huntington Library as it is far more than a regular library. The Huntington has botanical gardens,art collections and of course books,but the books are mainly rare books and manuscripts making me think more of a museum than a library. Anyway the first of three corpse flowers (named Stink,the other two plants are Stank and Stunk) is in bloom with the others expecting to follow suit any day. The smell is described as similar to rotten meat,decaying rats or really bad gym socks. The scent draws insects to the plant to pollinate it and only the mature plants bloom which is when they reach around 15 years old.