Kym PokornyRafflesia arnoldii or corpse flower, the world’s largest — and maybe stinkiest — flower. This example is fake, but looks just like the real one. That’s my mom’s hand. Share Tweet 0 Comments My dog Molly weighs 15 pounds. So does a single flower of Rafflesia arnoldii, which, at 3 feet across, is way bigger than she is. That’s just weird.

Weirder still is that its biggest-in-the-world flower is the only part of the plant that ever shows itself. That’s because Rafflesia is a parasite; there are no stems, leaves or true roots. Water and nutrients come from the host plant.

OK, before you start to get your panties in a bunch over the contention that Rafflesia has the largest flower, let me clarify: It has the largest “single” flower. Others, such as the unbelievably giagantic titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum), have clusters of flowers. All of this botany is open to discussion, I suppose. There’s the tallest plant, largest plant, largest root system. You get the point. As Craig Ferguson would say, “I look forward to your letters and e-mails.” He’s being snarky. I’m not … for a change.

Kym PokornyFor comparison purposes, here’s Molly. I’m sort of embarrassed to say that I didn’t even know about Rafflesia (commonly called corpse flower because of the stench). I could use the excuse that it only grows in the rain forests of Indonesia, where, unfortunately, I’ve never been. But that’s a copout for someone who’s been around plants all her life and written about them for 14 years. Oh, well, at least I’ve come clean. Anyway, I learned about Rafflesia this summer at the very wonderful California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

I looked it up online to do some research, and found another strangely interesting thing: There’s a Belgian hardcore, heavy-metal band named Rafflesia. 

My advice: If you look up their website, don’t listen to a song unless you have the sound turned down … way down.

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