Rafflesia – The World’s Largest Flower

 

               Rafflesia  arnoldii the world’s largest flower is from a   rare parasitic, rootless and leafless plant. Rafflesia was first discovered by the  Europeans Sir  Stamford Raffles and Dr. Joseph Arnold in 1816, near the town of  Bencooden in Sumatra. Therefore the this was named as Rafflesia  Arnoldii. The first description of Rafflesia  Arnoldi was given by Robert brown. This largest  tupe of  flower is upto  to  1metre  in diameter and weights  upto  9 kg .It takes around nine to twelve months for the buds to develop into flowers. Rafflesia flower is red in color with five leathery and speckled petals. The centre of Rafflesia flower has a well like structure and inside that well is a central raised disc with many vertical spines. The  Rafflesia  flower lasts around  five to seven  days  and it turns black and rots. It is a rare species that found only in certain areas of south east asia where there is much perciptation, particularly prevalent  in Sumatra. Raflesia grows to be about a yard wide and it smells like rotting meat. The horrid odor helps this rare plat to survive. The foul smell of rotting meat attracts the beetles and flies to pollinate. The flies and beetles should vsit both the  male and female  plants  for successful  pollination. It is a penetrating smell more repulsive then any buffalo carcass in an advanced stage of decomposition. It is a parasitic on members of genus  Tetrastigma. Throughout  its life it parasitizes on the host usually tropical lianas. It is hardly difficult to locate this flower as the buds take many months to develop  and the flower lasts for only few days. This flowers are unisexual.

                    Rafflesia  flower is an iconic symbol of the southeastern  Asian  rainforest. It has many uses too. The flower buds are applies in traditional medicine to promote delivery and recovery during and after child birth. Rafflesia  buds are used by women  to stop internal bleeding  and shrink the womb after child birth in peninsular  Malaysia. It can be used as a food as in Thailand young buds of the flower are eaten as a delicacy. Men uses it as an energy drink or aphrodisiac. Rafflesia  flowers are also used in perfumes, decoration and  boques. The buds  of  Rafflesia are used to make different concoctions for different purposes.

          One has failed to analyze  extensively the chemical properties of rafflesia yet. Preliminary phytochemical  screening however showed no evidence of the flowers medicinal properties.The buds and flowers are have a high content of tannin  and phenols which can be toxic when taken in large quantities. The major threat to Rafflesia is loss of habitat as human population clears rainforest. All the fifteen species of Rafflesia are endangered flowers in South East Asia.