'La Llorona,' San Antonio Zoo's corpse flower, close to blooming

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - La Llorona, San Antonio Zoo's corpse flower, is so close to blooming, guests can smell it, says the zoo.

The flower has officially begun to stink and zoo officials are encouraging guests to come and smell the flower before it blooms. San Antonio Zoo says it is still on full bloom watch and estimates it can blossom any day now.

The zoo says the flower has grown over 10 inches in the last week and stands at 51 inches tall. The inspiration for the name, chosen via a public poll on Facebook, La Llorona or ‘The Weeping Woman’ is a common folklore legend from Latin culture, says KSAT.

You can watch a live cam of the corpse flower on the San Antonio Zoo website.

The corpse flower is most famously known for the powerful rotting flesh odor it releases, hence its name, says the zoo. The powerful scent and heat, reminiscent of decaying meat, are produced by more than 30 chemicals and attract carrion beetles and flesh flies who pollinate the flower.  

The flower is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with an estimation of fewer than 1,000 remaining in the wild and the population has declined more than 50% over the past 150 years. According to the U.S. Botanic Garden, the main reasons for the decline are logging and the conversion of the plant's native forest habitat to oil palm plantations.

The U.S. Botanic Garden says the flower does not have an annual blooming cycle and requires very special conditions, including warm day and night temperatures and high humidity. The plant is native to the tropical rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia, and first became known to science in 1878. In its natural habitat, the corpse flower can grow up to 12 feet tall.