Rafflesia arnoldii

Rafflesia arnoldii is a parasitic flowering plant native to Sumatra and Borneo. Its enormous, foul-smelling flower grows from tissue inside a host vine.

Tetrastigma: A genus of woody vines in the grape family that serves as the host for Rafflesia plants. Rafflesia arnoldii develops inside these vines and depends on them for water and nutrients.
Rafflesiaceae: A family of flowering plants whose members are obligate parasites, including the genus Rafflesia. Rafflesia arnoldii belongs to this family of highly reduced parasites.
Sumatra: An island in western Indonesia, separated from the Malay Peninsula by the Strait of Malacca. The species is native to Sumatra’s rainforests.
Largest flower: A record category concerning the greatest diameter of a single flower. Rafflesia arnoldii is commonly described as producing the largest individual flower.
Endoparasitism: A form of parasitism in which an organism lives within the body or tissues of its host. The plant spends most of its life embedded in its host vine.
Rafflesia: A genus of parasitic flowering plants native to Southeast Asia, known for large, often carrion-scented flowers. The species is one member of this genus, whose other species vary in size and range.
Borneo: An island in Southeast Asia shared by Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. Borneo is also part of the species’ native range.
Titan arum: A flowering plant native to Sumatra whose enormous inflorescence contains many small flowers. Its giant structure is an inflorescence, unlike Rafflesia’s single flower.
Holoparasitism: Parasitism in which a plant obtains its resources from a host rather than photosynthesizing independently. Rafflesia lacks leaves and roots and draws resources from its host.
Perigone: A flower covering whose parts are not clearly differentiated into sepals and petals. The conspicuous lobes of the Rafflesia flower form a perigone rather than separate petals and sepals.

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Borneo lowland rain forestsBroader topic: This Bornean forest plant exemplifies the region’s unusual botanical diversity.