Titan arum -- a giant rainforest plant that has been dubbed the "corpse flower" for its terrible smell -- finally began to bloom around 6 p.m. Sunday at the U.S. Botanic Garden, next to the Capitol.

A rare flower is about to bloom at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, but those who get close enough for a look should prepare for a rather unflower-like smell.

No better way to spend Friday the 13th than sniffing a flower that smells like rotting flesh. Visitors to Moody Gardens in Galveston Island, Texas, can do just that.