NANTES, France (AFP) - Hundreds of curious visitors braved long queues in the French city of Nantes on Monday to catch a rare glimpse of an enormous flower dubbed "Titan's Penis" that appears only once a decade.

More than 2,000 people rushed to see the Amorphophallus titanum, also known as the titan arum, at the city's Jardin des Plantes after it began flowering on Sunday.

The phallus-shaped flower is the largest in the world, reaching heights of up to three metres, though the one in Nantes measures only 1.6 metres.

It appears once every 10 years and lasts for only 72 hours. The flower is also known for its deeply unpleasant odor reminiscent of rotting meat.

The plant, endemic to western Sumatra, is held in many botanical gardens and the Nantes facility acquired one in 2012.

"It is a pretty flower, well-designed, well-structured," said one of the visitors, Christian Hamon.