Giant flower which smells like 'rotting meat' blooms at zoo

The second of two huge smelly flowers has bloomed at Paignton Zoo.

Titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) flowers can be up to three metres high and three metres in circumference and smells like rotting meat.

In 2012, Paignton Zoo was the first zoological collection in the UK to have a Titan arum bloom.

The gardens team succeeded again in 2015 - but 2017 has been their best year ever for these smelly giants, with two Titans blooming.

The plant - from the rainforests of Sumatra and a member of the Arum family - is classed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants.

It has one of the largest flowers in the world; the bloom – correctly, an inflorescence – is green on the outside and bright red inside, with ribbed sides and a frilled edge.

Due to its odour – said to be like rotting meat – it’s known as a carrion flower, and has been dubbed corpse flower or corpse plant. It emits the strong smell at night to attract pollinators.