It looks, and most famously smells, like a bloom from the Little Shop of Horrors, but the Corpse Flower is very real and very shy.

The flower is native to the rainforests of Sumatra where it is called the 'bunga bangkai' which translates literally to 'flower cadaver.' The botanical name for the plant is the Titan Arum.

The plant is a prized trophy in botanical gardens around the world, including the Royal Gardens in London and Sydney. The tallest Titan Arum in the world measures at a full nine and a half feet tall

The most strangely compelling aspect of the Corpse Flower is its scent, which is released on the very rare occasions when the plant blooms. The scent of dead, rotting flesh attracts flies and carrion-beetles that serve to pollinate the flower. Male and female flowers grow from the central 'spike' around which grows the huge single petal, called the spathe.

A rare blossoming at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in Los Angeles drew 76,000 people to witness the event during its 19 days on display.