Rafflesia

http://katia.cabaretvoltaire.com/blo.../rafflesia.jpg

The world's largest flower, called Rafflesia, can have a diameter up to one meter and can weigh up to 10 kilograms. It also smells like rotting fleshRafflesia is a parasitic plant that lacks roots, stems, and leaves. Usually botanists trace plant orders using chloroplast DNA, but since Rafflesia does not have chloroplast genes, Todd Barkman, assistant professor of biological sciences at Western Michigan University, and his team instead analyzed the Rafflesia's mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which corresponds to chloroplast DNA.

The largest flower - Rafflesia http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...esia_80_cm.jpg
Rafflesia is the largest flower on earth. It can be found in tropical rainforest of Southeast Asia. There are 9 species of Rafflesia in Borneo island:

(1) R. arnoldii
(2) R. borneensis
(3) R. ciliata
(4) R. hasseltii
(5) R. keithii
(6) R. pricei
(7) R. tengku-adlinii
(8) R. tuan-mudae
(9) R. witkampii

The Rafflesia which I photographed is Rafflesia tuan-mudae which is named after Charles Brooke of Sarawak. Charles Brooke was the tuan muda of Sarawak before he became the Rajah (King) of Sarawak, long time ago.

Rafflesia is a parasite which grow on the vines of Tetrastigma.

http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty...fflesia_sp.jpg

World's Worst Smelling Flower The world's largest flower is also one of the worst smelling flowers.
Rafflesia Arnoldii is often over 3 feet wide and its petals are almost
an inch thick. You wouldn't want it in your garden, however, because
it smells like a rotting animal. The flower is attempting to attract
flies for pollination.
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