Lois the Corpse Flower is on the verge of blooming, and the world hold's it's collective breath, in more ways than one!

The corpse flower is so named because when in full bloom it smells like rotting meat meant to attract flies for pollination. The bloom only lasts for 3 days, and may only happen once during it's lifetime in capivity.

A native of the tropical forests of Sumartian, it was filmed for the first time by David Attenborough for his series the "The Private Life of Plants". Scientifically described for the first time in 1878, it has been cultivated in collections around the world ever since, but flowers rarely, so it is quite a hooplah when it does.
There are only 3 - 5 bloomings of this plant annually around the globe in the collections gardens, and right now we all have the chance to see this happening live, via the wonders of the internet.

Right now, in the halls of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Lois the corpse flower (botanically called the titan arum or Amorphophallus titanum - from Ancient Greek amorphos, "without form, misshapen" + phallos, "penis", and titan, "giant") is preparing to bloom. I, like many others around the world have been watching the live web feed for the last 24 hours waiting for something magical, somewhat thankful that smell does not yet transcend the internet.

This will be the first time the seven-year-old plant has produced the stinking flower for which it is named. After that, Lois might never bloom again, said Zac Stayton, a horticulturist with the Houston Museum of Natural Science, where the 5.6 foot plant (167 cm) is the main event.

"This is huge. This is one of the biggest attractions we've ever had here," Stayton said.

The 4,000 to 5,000 visitors a day are disappointed that the flower doesn't stink yet,  with visitor numbers forecast to rise to close to 10,000 per day as the blooming happens, and why wouldn't you go if you are in that neck of the woods.

You can check out the live webcam feed (copy & paste the link folks) < http://www.hmnsmedia.org/CorpseFlower/ > The live feed is of great quality but as it is in Housten the time delay for New Zealand is -17 hrs yesterday. Right now as I write this at 5.30am it is 12.30pm over there, so for New Zealanders early work day is going to be the best and most accessible time to watch this. Exciting.

From wikipedia just so you know what to expect:

The titan arum's inflorescence can reach over 3 metres (10 ft) in circumference. Like the related cuckoo pint and calla lily, it consists of a fragrant spadix of flowers wrapped by a spathe, which looks like the flower's single petal. In the case of the Titan Arum, the spathe is green on the outside and dark burgundy red on the inside, and deeply furrowed. The spadix is hollow and resembles a large loaf of French bread. The upper, visible portion of the spadix is covered in pollen, while its lower extremity is spangled with bright red-orange carpels. The "fragrance" of the inflorescence resembles rotting meat, attracting carrion-eating beetles  and Flesh Flies (family Sarcophagidae) that pollinate  it. The flower's deep red color and texture contribute to the illusion that the spathe is a piece of meat. During bloom, the tip of the spadix is approximately human body temperature, which helps the perfume volatilize; this heat is also believed to assist in the illusion that attracts carcass-eating insects.

Both male and female flowers grow in the same inflorescence. The female flowers open first, then a day or two following, the male flowers open. This prevents the flower from self-pollinating.

After the flower dies back, a single leaf, which reaches the size of a small tree, grows from the underground corm. The leaf grows on a semi-green stalk that branches into three sections at the top, each containing many leaflets. The leaf structure can reach up to 6 metres (20 ft) tall and 5 metres (16 ft) across. Each year, the old leaf dies and a new one grows in its place. When the corm has stored enough energy, it becomes dormant for about 4 months. Then, the process repeats.

The corm is the largest known, weighing around 50 kilograms (110 lb). When a specimen at the Princess of Wales Conservatory, Kew Gardens, was repotted after its dormant period, the weight was recorded as 91 kilograms (200 lb).