rafflesia

rafflesia (ruh-FLEE-zhuh, ra-FLEE-zee-uh) - n., any of several parasitic plants (genus Rafflesia) of the Malaysia and Indonesia with foul-smelling apetalous flowers.


Also called corpse flowers, carrion flowers, or meat flowers, but so are several other putrid plants that rely on flies and other carrion eaters for pollination. One species, Rafflesia arnoldii, has the largest single flowers known, up to a meter across. Named after Sir T. Stamford Raffles (1781-1826), governor of Sumatra and founder of Singapore, who sent the first type specimen to Europe.


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---L.