Photo courtesy: Wikipedia
"Hurry hurry! Get here as quickly as you can", cried the native. It was a hot and humid day in the warm Sumatran jungle. Dr. Arnold and Sir Stamford Raffles trudged along the jungle floor wondering what the native wanted to show them. Lo and behold, as they approached the site, the British botanists saw the most amazing sight but one that must have emitted the most putrid smell. That's how the world’s largest bloom was discovered in the 19th century. Hence the flower’s name, Rafflesia arnoldii.
Rafflesia, world’s largest blossom
Drum roll please! The Rafflesia arnoldii is the world's largest flower. Not only that, it also stinks. This is also known as the ‘stinking corpse lily’. While it stinks, it does look stunning with large red fleshy sepals that have dots resembling polka dots. This rare flower has intrigued scientists and can be found only in the Sumatran and Malay rain forests. The rafflesia does not have any stems or leaves. Instead it grows on the vine of its host. It belongs to the family of parasitic flowering plants and fulfills its needs through its host.
The following are some of the flowers that belong to the fascinating group of stinking blooms. There are many more that are equally repulsive. Interesting facts continue to emerge about stinky blooms!
Titan Arum
The Titan Arum botanically speaking is an ‘inflorescence’, which means it is a group of flowers that surrounds a column in the middle 
called spadix and surrounded by leafy structures called the spathe. It was discovered by an Italian botanist named Odoardo Beccari in the early 19th century in the forests of Sumatra.
The plant is humongous with the flower itself measuring about 3 meters across. The massive plant takes a year to flower but once in bloom, lasts only for a couple of days before it wilts away. Hold your noses! The Titan Arum smells like rotting flesh that is so repulsive that you can smell it half a mile away. In fact, these flowers also look like rotting flesh with a pink color.
The Titan Arum’s sole purpose to emit the horrible odor is to attract insects and flies for pollination. These plants are spread out so far apart that it is absolutely necessary for insects to visit them for pollination. And their nasty smell is guaranteed to attract flies.
Starfish Flowers
Besides the Titan Arum, the Starfish flower is an equally repugnant one. Ok, agreed, these flowers look very pretty that resemble beautiful stars. But go near it and you can smell the intense odor which will drive you away. Many flowers such as the Starfish flower belong to the Milkweed family of blooms. They get this name since their sap is milky white. The flower’s stench invites flies and maggots to its mid section where the plant’s reproductive organs are located.
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