THE Indonesia’s Sumatra Island has set its own record for flowers. This week was reported the discovery of the largest flower on record in the world, the ‘Rafflesia tuan–mudae‘, 111 cm in diameter, as you can see in the first gallery image above.
In the rest of the images, you can see the former record holder, ‘Rafflesia arnoldii‘, also original from Sumatra, which was 107 centimeters.
The plant ‘Rafflesia‘, It should be noted, it has no normal leaves, stem or even roots, according to the Guardian. It does not, therefore, photosynthesize, feeding through the filaments of a vine, which resemble cells. fungal.
After a few years of this type of feeding, the flower bud is born and swells for several months before blooming in the form shown above.
The smell, they say, is disgusting, described as being similar to the smell of meat. putrid. This odor, accompanied by the size of the flower, serves to attract insects that pollinate.
But the flower is threatened because of the disappearance of forests and because it remains impossible to grow.
– .
