Visitors are flocking to see a plant on display at the U.S. Botanic Garden whose scent is being compared to garbage and spoiled meet.

During the few days it stays in bloom, the titan arum plant, nicknamed "corpse plant" for its rank smell, is attracting thousands of visitors.

"It's quite spectacular: the color and the form and the strong odor," said John Kress, chairman of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History's botany department, which owns the plant. "I think that's what most people come to see. Or smell."

The cone-shaped bloom of the titan arum is believed to be the largest flower that doesn't grow on a tree. It has been known to grow 12 feet high in its native habitat on the island of Sumatra, reports The Associated Press