MIAMI (Reuters) - Rotting trash can? Decaying dead animal? No. The odor was that of a gigantic trop-ical plant whose rare bloom in Miami on Monday night drew a small crowd of rapturous plant enthusiasts to admire its smelly splendor. "Mr. Stinky", as locals call this example of Amorphophallustitanum or titan arum, towers over two meters in a conservatory at Miami's Fairchild Tropical Garden. "It's like wet dead rat, really," laughed lawyer Claudio Rivera. He hurried over from work to see the bloom, which has grown in recent weeks at a rate of up to 18 centimeters a day.

　　The titan arum was discovered by botanists on Sumatra in 1878 and is considered by many to have the most spectacular blossom in the world. Its powerful smell is released over the first hours of blooming to attract the carrion beetles thought to be its pollinators.