The World’s Largest and Stinkiest Flower
I was reading the other day about this.
It brought to mind the musical “Little Shop of Horrors” with “Audrey 2” named after the woman ‘Seymour’ loves.
The Rafflesia plant is gigantic and endangered too.
THE LARGEST FLOWER in the world, Rafflesia arnoldii, is more than three feet across. With no roots, shoots, stems, or leaves, this parasitic plant is stealthy, visually undetectable until it prepares to bloom. Buds erupt without warning from an infected host vine and swell slowly over months to the size of cabbages. In full bloom, each bud’s central floral chamber—orb-shaped, with a circular opening at the top—resembles a planetarium or astronomical observatory with a mottled roof partially opened to the sky. Within lies a disk covered with spiked structures. Botanists have named the spikes “processes,” but have no clear idea what they do. In the largest flowers, the chamber is almost big enough for an infant to crawl inside and fall asleep. But R. arnoldii’s spectacular flower is the least of its appeal to scientists, because the genus to which it belongs also holds a gigantic genetic mystery. ( Harvard Magazine)
I remember when our Muttart Conservatory in Edmonton had the “Putrella” flower, otherwise known as the ‘corpse flower’, that finally bloomed in 2018 and it was smelly too. That’s another weird, stinky flower and another story.
More from Harvard Magazine about Rafflesia….
“As fascinating as these mysterious blooms are to people, the flower is designed to attract a much smaller visitor. Carrion flies swarm to Rafflesia, attracted by the scent of rotting meat—reportedly strongest around noon on the third or fourth day of the bloom, which lasts little more than a week. The pungent bouquet, which varies in intensity from one species to another, has led to the names “corpse lily” and “carrion flower” in English.”
“The roughly 30 known stinky species in the Rafflesia genus, found only in Southeast Asian rainforests, are threatened by habitat destruction and illegal harvest for their questionable medicinal benefits. Several species are critically endangered.” ( National Geographic)
Our world is so interesting. I’m always taking photos of flowers and get teased often because I literally want to “stop and smell the flowers”.
Wouldn’t it be amazing to see this thing in real life?
Not so sure about smelling it though….ha ha.