WATCH LIVE: Corpse flower blooms at New York Botanical Garden

NEW YORK -- New Yorkers and tourists have been gathering at the New York Botanical Garden all week to see the rare and unpredictable event that lasts between 24 and 36 hours.

A full bloom of the Indonesian plant, which thrives in unbearable humidity, hasn’t happened at the Bronx garden since 1939, the last time it had one. The flower blooms every 10 years and has only a small chance of having another life cycle, making it all the more important to see it now.

Hundreds that will line up at the NYBG will not only be getting a glimpse of the beautiful and enormous flower, but also be getting a whiff of that fragrance, likened to rotting flesh.

Thursday morning, the plant was still shut closed. A few hours later, the smelly plant could be seen opening up, starting the bloom cycle.

For those who can’t make it to the garden, you can watch the event live. About 3,500 people were tuned in at one time Thursday afternoon, though they will be deprived of the full sensory experience, which might be for the best.