With no stems, leaves, or roots, the world’s largest flower
is a bit of an oddball in the botanical world. Native to Borneo and Sumatra, the
Rafflesia Arnoldi is actually a parasite living off the nutrients found in
jungle vines, rather than through the traditional soil-and-sun routine.
The Rafflesia is also unique in its pollination tactics;
rather than producing the sweet smells that attract bees, butterflies, and the like,
this flower smells of rotting flesh and meat, thus earning it the name “corpse
flower” among locals. The pungent odor attracts flies and other scavenger
insects, which transfer the pollen.
Since the flowers take six to nine months to bloom and begin
to decompose after two or three days, the opportunity to spot them can be rare.
We were lucky enough to get just such an opportunity, even luckier that it didn’t
cost us an arm and a leg (unless your limbs cost under $3 apiece) and only took
about 30 minutes of jungle walking.
Technically, we had missed the typical blooming time by only
a matter of weeks, but our final stop in Sumatra allowed us easy access to a
village where, by some fluke, the flowers bloom sporadically throughout the
year, almost guaranteeing visitors the chance to see one.
Bizarre and bizarrely lovely, the rafflesia was a bucket
list item I didn’t know I had until I saw it. A highlight among a trip
chockfull of highlights, the flower was certainly worth the short, but
slippery, mini-trek on our final day in Sumatra.
