An endangered tropical plant that emits the stench of a rotting corpse during its rare blooms has begun to flower in a greenhouse in Sydney.

She may smell like rotting flesh but “Putricia”, the internet-famous corpse flower, has been the centre of attention at the Botanic Gardens of Sydney over the last two days.

The rare unfurling of an endangered plant that emits the smell of decaying flesh drew hundreds of devoted fans to a greenhouse in Sydney on Thursday where they joined three-hour lines to experience a momentous bloom -- and a fragrance evoking gym socks and rotting garbage.

For a week the plant has graced a gothic display in front of a purple curtain and wreathed in mist from a humidifier at Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden.