Mondo Knows Facts
Rafflesia produces the largest single flower on Earth
The bloom can reach a metre across and weighs several kilograms
Rafflesia arnoldii grows in the rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo as a parasite with no leaves, stem or roots. Its metre-wide flower appears out of the host vine and smells of rotting flesh to attract carrion flies for pollination. The bloom lasts only a few days before collapsing.
Where this comes from
Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.
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Tags: flowers, rafflesia, sumatra
Rafflesia produces the largest single flower on Earth: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- The bloom can reach a metre across and weighs several kilograms. The figure is taken from Kew Gardens, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a records & extremes fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Records & Extremes shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.