Normally when people sniff flowers, they expect a pleasant smell. But the Titan Arum produces the opposite effect - it smells "like a dead rabbit that has been lying in the sun for two weeks," said botanist Bart Van de Vijver in an interview with NBC.

Also known as the 'corpse flower,' the blooming of this massive plant at the National Botanic Garden of Belgium drew huge crowds despite the stench. The plant blooms so rarely that whenever it unfurls its leaves and begins to stink, it's an event.

According to NBC, the National Botanic Garden of Belgium had around 5,000 people come to see the plant, a number that's ten times higher than normal. This particular plant has flowered three times since 2008, which is unusual in itself, reported the Associated Press.

Titan Arum is the largest unbranched flower in the world, with the central stalk of the bloom normally reaching heights between six and eight feet, with the tallest ever measured being just over 10 feet, says the Ohio State University Biological Sciences Greenhouse. The blooming stalk, which produces the smell of rotting flesh to attract pollinators like flies, usually only lasts for a few days. According to the Ohio State University, the tall stalk actually heats up at night to a temperature of about 98 F to help spread the odor.

Check out the slideshow below for photos of tourists sniffing the corpse flower in Belgium.