Conservationists in Indonesia have reported spotting the world’s largest bloom, the giant Rafflesia tuan-mudae. This fleshy red giant flower measures a staggering 42 inches in diameter (111 centimeters).
The world’s largest bloom has white blister-like marks on its petals and smells like rotting flesh. It was found at the West Sumatran Maninjau Nature Preserve in the Regency of Agam.
It is at times known as the ‘monster flower’ for its obnoxious stench and the one found could turn out to be one of the biggest one of the world’s largest blooms. It was at the same spot that the previous biggest sighting was recorded. The present parasitic flower is around 4 inches wider.
The world’s largest bloom lacks leaves or roots and feeds off the host plant, sucking out its nutrients and water. Its presence can be detected only when it bursts out of the host plant and blooms in all its glory.
The full bloomed flower gives a repugnant smell that is similar to the stench of rotting meat, the reason it is also referred to as the ‘corpse flower’. Insects are attracted by the stench and they help to pollinate it. The life span of the world’s largest bloom is short though. It lives in its fully grown state for just a week before it dies out. It lives as a parasite on the Tetrastigma vine. While the vine of the world’s largest bloom grows along the ground, other species of the Rafflesia bloom from vines hanging in the air.
World’s Largest Bloom Named After Sir Stamford Raffles
The flower gets its name from British colonialist Sir Stamford Raffles. He is the founder of Singapore and first spotted the world’s largest bloom in Indonesia in the early 19th century. Ade Putra of the Conservation Agency at Agam Regency, West Sumatra said that this particular bloom of the Rafflesia tuan-mudae is the largest ever to be documented.
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The word tuan-mudae can roughly be translated to mean ‘beloved’ or ‘young prince’, in honor of the British Raja of Sarawak, Charles Brooke. The flower is also referred to as ‘punga pakma’, ‘bunga’ refers to flower in Malaysian.
