SMELLY BLOOM ATTRACTS 10,000 TO HUNTINGTON.

Byline: Michael Coit Staff Writer

The broad bloom of the world's largest flower - and the rotting smell that inspired its ``corpse flower'' name - drew a record crowd Monday to the Huntington Botanical Gardens, with people waiting more than two hours for the rare sight.

A main attraction is the fleeting beauty of the first Amorphophallus titanum to bloom in California and only the 10th in the United States.

The tightly furled, petal-like bloom began to unfold Sunday evening as the Huntington was closing. Its rich, velvety maroon interior, measuring three feet across, was fully displayed by early Monday morning.

Today, though, is likely the last opportunity to admire the flower before it dramatically dies, collapsing under its own weight. It likely will never bloom again.

``It's beautiful. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience,'' said Maritza Cain, who brought her niece, mother and grandmother from Reseda. ``I had seen one of the documentaries on it. I had to see it in person.''

Her mother, Herminia Cain, spent as long as she could peering at the bloom as a steady stream of people moved through the covered patio where the flower was on display.

``It's just like a cornucopia. I like everything, the form, the size, the color,'' she explained.

The buzz over the bloom drew the largest single-day crowd to the Huntington with nearly 10,000 people.

``We've never seen crowds like we have today,'' said Catherine Babcock, the Huntington's communications director. ``We're sorry we had to turn people away. We hope they can get in again.''

Attendance surpassed the 8,200 people who came on a Thursday in May when admission was free, the roses were in bloom and notable manuscripts and artifacts from President Washington were on exhibit.

``We didn't know what to expect. They've been fabulous,'' Babcock said.

Although usually closed Mondays, the Huntington opened to show the flower - normally found in equatorial tropical rain forests - blooming in semiarid Southern California. Today's 9 a.m. opening is earlier than usual to accommodate the crowds.

Attendance more than doubled last week, compared with a normal week. The crowds have been getting larger each day, but Monday's turnout stunned Huntington officials.

Traffic backed up nearly two miles from the main entrance onto San Marino and Pasadena streets. The parking lot was closed at 2 p.m. so the crowd inside could clear before the Huntington closed about three hours later.

Once inside, patrons joined a serpentine line that wound under the warm sun across the Huntington's verdant grounds and through all possible shaded areas.

``I thought there would be a crowd, but I certainly didn't expect this for a Monday,'' said Tammy Sparks, pushing her 6-month-old son, Duncan, in a stroller near the front of the line of flower fans. ``We're lingering in the shade as much as possible. There's a lot to look at, so he's doing well.''

The Duncans, from Valley Village, were fairly fortunate. Arriving when the Huntington opened at 10:30 a.m., they waited only 20 minutes to get in the parking lot, 30 minutes to buy a ticket and 60 minutes to spend 5 minutes or so with the awesome blossom.

The botanical gardens' patrons were able to walk up to the flower without waiting Friday. Bill Figueroa of Culver City even spent nearly an hour taking photographs of the then-emerging bloom.

The flower's opening was eagerly awaited all weekend after Huntington officials noted the noxious odor was beginning to release Friday.

Janice Corsino of Pasadena said she was inspired to buy a Huntington annual membership after coming to view the emerging bloom on both Saturday and Sunday. The longer wait didn't bother her Monday.

``You get to stand in a park. It's such a magnificent place,'' she said.

The only place to avoid was anywhere downwind of the flower.

``There was one spot where you could smell it. I stayed there for about 30 seconds,'' Corsino said.

Named bunga bangkai, or corpse flower, in its native Sumatra, the flower's awful odor is compared to rotting flesh. The odor is passed off in a vapor aided by the heating of the flower as it grows.

People had to contend with the warm sun a lot longer than the smell.

With so many, including many children and seniors, soaking in the warm sun, dozens of staffers left their offices to hand out red and blue umbrellas for shade and cups of water for thirst.

``Today it's all hands on deck,'' said Carl Foote, the Huntington's personnel director, waiting for a tray of water cups.

The kindred spirit of the flower fans was demonstrated by Lars Jorgensen, who handed out water while waiting in line.

``I didn't expect this crowd, but it doesn't surprise me,'' said Jorgensen, who tends a garden of California natives at his Pasadena home. ``This is profoundly interesting.''

Growing as fast as 4 inches a day, the flower went from bulb to nearly 6 feet in six weeks.

Rising from a pot in the center of the loggia off the Huntington's Scott Gallery, the flower is only the 10th specimen of the Amorphophallus titanum to bloom in the United States since the first recorded bloom at the New York Botanical Garden in 1937.

The facts

The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens are open 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The Huntington will open earlier at 9 a.m. today for viewing of the world's largest flower.

Admission is $8.50 for non-member adults, $8 for seniors age 65 and older, $6 for students age 12 and older, and free for children under 12.

For more information, call [phone].

For updates on the world's largest flower, call [phone].

The Huntington web address is www.huntington.org.

A web broadcast of the bloom is available at jpl.nasa.gov.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo: (1 -- color) A crowd is gathered around the corpse flower in bloom at the Huntington.

(2 -- color) Monica Caudillo, Lori Nevares and Monica Colon, all 10, react to the corpse flower's odor.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer

Box: The facts (see text)