Life may stink, but so does Putricia – and I love her for it | Rebecca Shaw

The corpse flower has allowed me and thousands of others to check out from the noise for a few days and honour the glorious spectacle of nature

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Occasionally in this difficult life, during times of extended bleakness, we are blessed with something that comes along and captures our collective attention, bonding us, and bringing us joy. This week, Madame Putricia entered our lives. If you aren't aware of who she is, I'm sorry your life lacks glory - but also congratulations on not living on the internet (I suppose).

The wonderful Putricia is a corpse flower that has been on display at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. Over the past few days, she has been visited by thousands and watched online by thousands more, as she slowwwwly bloomed and released her wondrous stench for the first time in 15 years. It is Putricia's prerogative to take her sweet time - and so she did.

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