Fun Science Facts from the Library of Congress
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Question What is the largest flower in the world?
Answer
The Rafflesia arnoldii.
Rafflesia arnoldii (corpse flower) growing to the east of the Lake Maninjau, Sumatra, Indonesia. Henrik Hansson. Plants of the World Online, Kewscience.The flower with the world’s largest bloom is the Rafflesia arnoldii. This rare flower is found in the rainforests of Indonesia. It can grow to be 3 feet across and weigh up to 15 pounds! It is a parasitic plant, with no visible leaves, roots, or stem. It attaches itself to a host plant to obtain water and nutrients.
Rafflesia arnoldii (corpse flower). From An account of a new genus of plants, named Rafflesia . London: Printed by Richard and Arthur Taylor, 1821. Biodiversity Heritage Library.When in bloom, the Rafflesia emits a repulsive odor, similar to that of rotting meat. This odor attracts insects that pollinate the plant.
Titan arum close-up. Architect of the Capitol Flickr PhotostreamAnother enormous flower found in Indonesia is the Amorphophallus titanum, or Titan arum. It is also known as the “corpse flower” for its unpleasant odor. Like the Rafflesia, the Titan emits the smell of rotting flesh to attract pollinators. Technically, the Titan arum is not a single flower. It is a cluster of many tiny flowers, called an inflorescence. The Titan arum has the largest unbranched inflorescence of all flowering plants. The plant can reach heights of 7 to 12 feet and weigh as much as 170 pounds!
Three corpse flowers bloomed at USBG in 2017: Illustration by Chicago Botanic Garden. United States Botanic Garden (USBG). Published: 11/19/2019. Updated: 5/1/2024. Author: Science Reference Section, Library of Congress
Related Websites
Cultivating the world’s largest, stinkiest flower is no small task
External
(National Geographic)
Kew Science Blog: Amor-phew-phallus
External
(Kew Royal Botanic Gardens) - Kew Scientist Geoffrey Kite and Amorphophallus expert Wilbert Hetterscheid explain why they spent their evenings trying to capture the odours of some of the world's weirdest and smelliest 'flowers'.
Kew’s Plants of the World Online
External
(Kew Royal Botanic Gardens) - POWO draws together Kew’s extensive data resources including its regional Floras and monographs, alongside images from the digitisation of the collections.
Rafflesia arnoldii
External
(Dan Nickrent, Dept. of Plant Biology, Southern Illinois University Carbondale) - The Genus Rafflesia
What's the Big Stink: Nine Things to Know about the Giant Corpse Flower
External
(Temple University)
Conserving the Giant Titans
External
(Virtual Herbarium) - This site provides the history, statistics, and frequently asked questions about the Titan Arum, as well as, documented blooms of the Titan Arum in the United States.
U.S. Botanic Garden
- Three corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum) plants, also known as titan arum or the stinky plant, bloomed in August 2017 at the U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory. It was the first bloom for all three of the plants, which varied in age from five years up to 12 years old.
Further Reading
Attenborough, David. The private life of plants: A natural history of plant behaviour. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1995. 320 p.
Emboden, Willliam A. Bizarre plants: magical, monstrous, mythical. London, Studio Vista, 1974. 214 p.
Nais, Jamili. Rafflesia of the world. Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Parks, 2001. 243 p
Ross, Edward S. "Rafflesia: the superflower." California Wild, v. 56, Summer, 2003 p. 8-11.
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