Which Plant Has the Largest Individual Flower?

It's Rafflesia

• The Library of Congress says the plant with the largest individual flower is the Rafflesia arnoldii. This plant grows in the tropical jungles of Indonesia. It produces a single flower that is 3 feet across and weighs in at 15 pounds. The flat, round flower has five dark red petals covered with many white spots, giving the flower a polka-dot look. The petals surround a central chamber that contains the reproductive organs.

Pollination

• The flower of Rafflesia arnoldii is pretty to look at but not pleasant to smell. It has a scent like rotten meat, which attracts the bluebottle carrion flies that pollinate this plant. Rafflesia flowers are either male pollen-bearing or female seed-bearing blooms. The stench fools the carrion flies into entering the reproductive chamber of the flower to pick up or drop off pollen.

Parasitic Plant

• Rafflesia arnoldii is a parasitic plant that lives on the water and nutrients it draws from a species of woody tropical vine that serves as its host. It lacks leaves and chlorophyll, so it cannot perform photosynthesis. It flowers rarely, and its bloom lasts only about five days.

Rafflesia's Family

• Rafflesia belongs to the flowering plant family called euphorbs or spurges. This family comprises over 6,000 species including such well-known plants as poinsettias, rubber trees and cassavas. Euphorbs typically have tiny flowers, making Rafflesia an oddity in the family. Rafflesia is becoming endangered because its jungle habitat is being destroyed.