The World’s Biggest And Stinkiest Flowers Are Facing Extinction

All 42 known species of the parasitic plant genus, Rafflesia, often known as ‘corpse flowers’, are endangered due to runaway destruction of their tropical forest habitats.

Rafflesia flowers that grow on hanging roots are a rare phenomenon (Usually Rafflesia flowers grow on roots near the ground surface.) This photograph of a Rafflesia that is flowering from hanging roots was taken in the Batang Palupuah Nature Reserve, West Sumatra, Indonesia. (Credit: Maizal / CC BY-SA 4.0)

Some of the world’s most enigmatic plants are the mysterious Rafflesia species that occur throughout southeast Asia. As plants go, Rafflesia species are wildly weird. They live hidden inside a vine most of the time, lack any observable leaves, stems or roots – they even lack chlorophyll, thus, they cannot do as most plants do: they cannot photosynthesize. Of course, this made me wonder how do we know Rafflesia actually are plants and not fungi?