Rafflesia arnoldii
| Rafflesia arnoldii | |
|---|---|
| Flower | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Rafflesiaceae |
| Genus: | Rafflesia |
| Species: | R. arnoldii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Rafflesia arnoldii | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Rafflesia arnoldii is a species of flowering plant in the parasitic genus Rafflesia within the family Rafflesiaceae. It is native to the rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo.
It is commonly known as the corpse flower or giant padma.
It is noted for producing the largest individual flower on Earth. 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.
It is noted to have a strong and unpleasant odour akin to that of decaying flesh.
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). It was officially recognised as a national "rare flower" (Indonesian: puspa langka) in Presidential Decree No. 4 in 1993.