Rafflesia (/rəˈfliːz(i)ə,-ˈfliːʒ(i)ə,ræ-/),[2] or stinking corpse lily,[3] is a genus of parasitic flowering plants in the family Rafflesiaceae.[4] The species have enormous flowers, the buds rising from the ground or directly from the lower stems of their host plants; one species has the largest flower in the world. Plants of the World Online lists up to 41 species from this genus,[4] all of them are found throughout Southeast Asia.
Western Europeans first learned about plants of this genus from French surgeon and naturalist Louis Deschamps when he was in Java between 1791 and 1794; but his notes and illustrations, seized by the British in 1803, were not available to western science until 1861.[5] The first British person to see one was Joseph Arnold in 1818, in the Indonesia rainforest in Bengkulu, Sumatra, after a Malay servant working for him discovered a flower and pointed it out to him.[6] The flower, and the genus, was later named after Stamford Raffles,[7] the leader of the expedition and the founder of the British colony of Singapore.
The following is from Arnold's account of discovering the flower:[6]
Here I rejoice to tell you I happened to meet with what I consider as the greatest prodigy of the vegetable world. I had ventured some way from the party, when one of the Malay servants came running to me ... To tell you the truth, had I been alone, and had there been no witnesses, I should, I think, have been fearful of mentioning the dimensions of this flower, so much does it exceed every flower I have seen or heard of.
^"Rafflesia". International Plant Names Index. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Harvard University Herbaria & Libraries and Australian National Botanic Gardens. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
^Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
^Cite error: The named reference McNeely was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ab"Rafflesia R.Br. ex Gray". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
^Willem, Meijer (1997). "Rafflesiaceae". Flora Malesiana. Vol. 13. Leiden: Hortus Botanicus Leiden, under auspices of Foundation Flora Malesiana. pp. 1–42. ISBN 90-71236-33-1.
^ abKeng, Hsuan (1978). Orders and Families of Malayan Seed Plants (revised ed.). Singapore: Singapore University Press (original published by University of Malaya Press 1969). p. 106.
^"Rafflesia". Infopedia. Government of Singapore. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
Rafflesia (/rəˈfliːz(i)ə, -ˈfliːʒ(i)ə, ræ-/), or stinking corpse lily, is a genus of parasitic flowering plants in the family Rafflesiaceae. The species...
Rafflesia arnoldii, the corpse flower, or giant padma, is a species of flowering plant in the parasitic genus Rafflesia. It is noted for producing the...
Rafflesia kerrii is a member of the genus Rafflesia. It is found in the rainforest of southern Thailand and peninsular Malaysia, with notable populations...
Rafflesia azlanii is a parasitic flowering plant of the genus Rafflesia, endemic to Peninsular Malaysia. It is most similar to R. cantleyi, but differs...
Rafflesia speciosa is a parasitic plant species of the genus Rafflesia. It is endemic to the Philippine island of Panay. R. speciosa is the third Rafflesia...
Rafflesia kemumu is a parasitic plant species of the genus Rafflesia. It is endemic to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. de Lazaro, Enrico (22 November...
Rafflesia witkampii is a plant species in the genus Rafflesia. Rafflesia witkampii is a parasitic flowering plant. Meijer (1997) provided a comprehensive...
Rafflesia manillana is a parasitic plant species of the genus Rafflesia. It is endemic to the Philippines. This species was named after the city of Manila...
Rafflesia hasseltii (common name Cendawan Muca Rimau meaning "Tiger-faced Mushroom". Although Rafflesias have mycelia-like fibers penetrating their host...
described scientifically in 1878 in Sumatra. Flowers of plants in the genus Rafflesia (family Rafflesiaceae) emit an odor similar to that of decaying meat....
Rafflesia philippensis is a parasitic plant species of the Rafflesiaceae family that was named by Francisco Manuel Blanco in his Flora de Filipinas in...
Rafflesia cantleyi is a parasitic plant species of the genus Rafflesia. It can be found in Peninsular Malaysia and Pulau Tioman, an island off the east...
Rafflesia schadenbergiana is a parasitic plant species of the genus Rafflesia. Known as "bó-o" to the Bagobo tribe and "kolon busaw" to the Higaonon tribe...
Rafflesia keithii is a parasitic flowering plant in the genus Rafflesia endemic to Sabah in Borneo. The flowers can grow up to one metre in diameter....
Rafflesia patma is a parasitic plant species of the genus Rafflesia. It is only known to grow on the Indonesian island of Java, although it may have occurred...
Rafflesia zollingeriana is a species of flowering plant in the family Rafflesiaceae, native to Java. Of three species of Rafflesia known from Java this...
amabilis)) Rare flower (Indonesian: Puspa langka) is Padma Raksasa Rafflesia (Rafflesia arnoldii). All three were chosen on World Environment Day in 1990...
armor, the Rafflesia, and battles Seabook and Cecily. The Vigna Ghina is destroyed, ejecting Cecily into space, and Seabook destroys the Rafflesia in response...
Rafflesia consueloae is a parasitic plant species of the genus Rafflesia endemic to the island of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the smallest species...
Rafflesia ciliata is a plant species in the genus Rafflesia. "Rafflesia ciliata Koord. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World...
Rafflesia pricei is a parasitic flowering plant endemic to Borneo. It is named after amateur botanist William Price, who discovered the species on Mount...
Rafflesia bengkuluensis is a relatively new parasitic plant species of the genus Rafflesia. It is native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It was discovered...
species of trees every hectare. These forests host many members of the Rafflesia genus, the largest flowers in the world, with a maximum diameter of 1 m...
Rafflesia mira is a member of the genus Rafflesia. It is endemic to the rainforest of Mindanao, Philippines and can only be found in the vicinity of Mount...
The Rafflesia Forest Reserve is a Virgin Jungle Reserve (VJR) that covers an area of 356 hectares (880 acres) in Tambunan District of Sabah, Malaysia...
eventually discovered that Rafflesia is not Mazone, but human. After defeating her in their duel, Harlock allows Rafflesia to leave Earth with her people...
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