Rafflesia arnoldii

Rafflesia arnoldii, the corpse flower,^[2] or giant padma,^[3] is a species of flowering plant in the parasitic genus Rafflesia. It is noted for producing the largest individual flower on Earth.^[4] It has a strong and unpleasant odor of decaying flesh.^[5] It is native to the rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo.^[6] Although there are some plants with larger flowering organs like the titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) and talipot palm (Corypha umbraculifera), those are technically clusters of many flowers.

Rafflesia arnoldii is one of the three national flowers in Indonesia, the other two being the white jasmine (Jasminum sambac) and moon orchid (Phalaenopsis amabilis).^[7] It was officially recognized as a national "rare flower" (Indonesian: puspa langka) in Presidential Decree No. 4 in 1993.^[8]

^ "Rafflesia arnoldii". International Plant Names Index. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries and Australian National Botanic Gardens. 1821. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
^ "Rafflesia arnoldii (corpse flower)". Plants & Fungi (blog). Kew Botanical Gardens. 2011. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2020. note: unverified errata info possibly from Mabberley (1985)
^ An Atlas of Biodiversity in Indonesia. Jakarta: State Ministry of Environment. 1995. p. 68.
^ "5 Awesome Parasitic Plants". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
^ "Rafflesia arnoldii: la flor más apestosa del mundo". Infoterio Noticias | Ciencia y Tecnología (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2023.
^ The Genus Rafflesia. Parasitic Plant Connection.
^ "ASEAN National Flowers". ASEAN secretariat. Archived from the original on 23 February 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
^ Keputusan Presiden No. 4 Tahun 1993 Archived 2012-04-02 at the Wayback Machine