What Is The Largest Flower In The World?

Scientists believe that flowers have been around for more than 140 million years. Many flowers, and the plants they grow on, depend on insects and other pollinators to help them reproduce. To attract pollinators, flowers use smells, shape, color, showy petals, and, of course, size! So what is the largest flower in the world – and how did it get so big?

A monster flower

The bright red ‘corpse flower’ Rafflesia arnoldii is the world’s largest single flower. It is also known as the giant padma and is one of the three national flowers of Indonesia.

Surprisingly for a plant, Rafflesia does not have any visible stems, leaves, or roots. The flowers grow up to 3.3 feet or one meter in diameter – and can weigh up to 24 pounds or 11 kilograms! The large buds are dark brown or maroon, shaped like cabbages, and can be up to 17 inches in diameter.

It does not smell like roses!

Rafflesia arnoldii may be a flower but it probably doesn’t smell like any other flower you’ve ever seen. It is found in the rainforests of Southeast Asia and smells less sweet and flowery and more like dead flesh.

Mature blooms smell rather like rotting meat and it is this smell that attracts insect pollinators to it. The flowers stay open for five to seven days and attract flies that feed on carrion – and who probably do not mind the smell as much as we do!

Rare species

Rafflesia arnoldii is found in the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia and grows only on the tendrils of the Tetrastigma vine. Since these vines are only found in healthy, intact rainforests, this makes Rafflesia quite rare.

In Indonesia, R. arnoldii has been officially recognized as a national ‘rare’ flower by Presidential decree since 1993. Other Rafflesia species are also found in the Philippines, Thailand, and Brunei.

Survival through parasitism

Rafflesia does not have chlorophyll and cannot produce food through photosynthesis. Instead, it is parasitic and attaches itself to a host plant to obtain nutrients in water. Specifically, the corpse flower is found on the roots of vines called Tetrastigma.

Because it cannot survive without its host plant, it is called a holoparasite – it obtains food by spreading its absorptive organ called ‘haustorium’ within the tissue of the vine so that only the five-petalled flower can be seen outside its host.

An endangered genus

Scientists say that 60% of the 42 Rafflesia species known to science could be at risk of extinction. As many as 25 species could be critically endangered, with 15 being endangered and 2 being classified as vulnerable.

The survival of these magnificent blooms is threatened by the destruction of their rainforest homes. They are also illegally harvested because some people believe that they have medicinal properties. Many Rafflesia grow outside nature reserves, meaning that they are not protected by national or regional laws.

Endangered animals often receive more attention than threatened plants, but it is plants that create habitats that all living beings need to survive. Protecting Rafflesia habitats and increasing scientific study on them is key to conserving these superb flowers.

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