The world’s largest flower, Rafflesia arnoldii, has bloomed in two different locations in the rainforests of Indonesian island Sumatra. The giant red flower, which smells of rotting flesh, has no stems, leaves or roots and blooms only for a couple of days. The flower has recently made an appearance in the Taba Penanjung Forest and the Tebat Monok Forest. The plant is named after the founder of modern Singapore,Sir Stamford Raffles and the British botanist Joseph Arnold.
Rafflesia arnoldii is endemic to Sumatra and has become a symbol of the area, appearing on Indonesian postage stamps and tourist brochures for the region. . Despite the quick observation period, Indonesia is known for the richness of its plant diversity and has 25,000 different flowering plant species. Forty per cent of these don’t exist anywhere else on earth.
