Corpse Flower Has Nothing On Rotten Eggs -- And People Are Lining Up For A Sniff

LONG BEACH (CBSLA)  -- Bad news -- the corpse flower is in bloom.

Good news -- it only blooms every 7-15 years.

Strange news -- despite the fact the bloom smells something like rotten eggs, people are lined up -- around the block -- to get a whiff.

A corpse flower has reared its ugly smelling  head at Cal State Long Beach.

CBS2/KCAL9's reporter Cristy Fajardo stood -- and mask-free no less -- next to the stinky plant Sunday acknowledging "I'm pretty tough."

She described the smell as "worse than a rotten egg. Be glad you don't have smell-o-vision."

That didn't stop a long line of people (they mostly appeared young) wanting to experience the odor -- and take a selfie with the plant.

The flower at Cal State Long Beach is 11 years old. And it's named Phil after a late botanist who worked at the school.

Fajardo spoke to Brian Thorson, botanical curator of biological sciences at the school.  He's been standing next to the flower all day. Fajardo wanted to know if he was used to the smell.

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Without hesitation he said, "No." He added, "I'm quite sick at the moment."

He laughed, so maybe he was kidding.

"I love the fact that there are so many people that are excited to come and see Phil," he said. "His name is Phil, by the way. Named after Dr. Philip Baker, who was a professor emeritus of botany here."

Also on the plus side, the flower only blooms for 24-48 hours.

Thorson thinks Phil will actually go for a couple of days.

"Cause it's much cooler, and much for the reason you put flowers in the refrigerator, to keep them longer,  I think he will last for [at least] two days."