Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Putrescent \Pu*tres"cent\, a. [L. putrescens, p. pr.of
   putrescere to grow rotten, v. incho. fr. putrere to be
   rotten. See {Putrid}.]
   1. Becoming putrid or rotten.

            Externally powerful, although putrescent at the
            core.                                 --Motley.

   2. Of or pertaining to the process of putrefaction; as, a
      putrescent smell.

Source : WordNet®

putrescent
     adj : becoming putrid; "a trail lined by putrescent carcasses"