This week’s theme for photo challenge is Rare.
This flower is really rare and we have to travel to the country side to view it.
Actually, we have to pay a fee for viewing it.
We took a trip to the hill slopes in Kota Kinabalu, East Malaysia.
The flower, sometimes known as the Corpse Flower, is stinky.
It is the biggest flower on earth. The one we saw weighs over 10lbs, but there are others which weigh a lot more.
I am not sure you would like to get close to it in view of the smell!
retireediary 
Great picture. But what you have shown I find preditary and creepy. Such an extraordinary growth. What a journey through evolution it must have taken.
Yes, how does it evolve to have fleshy petals? Just wonder.
Ooh I’ve read about these! I heard that they get pollinated by elephants 😳 Don’t know if that was a joke or true, given the size… 🤔
They are pollinated by meat eating insects – the stinky dead meat smell encourages the insects to come!
Great photo of the very strange parasitic Rafflesia plant.
Yes, I have forgotten the name Rafflesia, thanks for bringing it up.
Impressive and scaring looking at the same time!
Their petals are fleshy, see my previous comment why they are stinky!
Simply wow!
🙂
Michael, I would be interested in the Latin name of this flower. I’ve only known corpse flower to be Amorphophallus titanum, which doesn’t seem to resemble that, pictured. Both flowers remind me a lot of our Aristolochia macrophylla vine – crazy big flowers, similar in appearance, but no stink – in fact, a subtle but pleasant odor. Nature is amazing!
It is known as Rafflesia.
The name “corpse flower” applied to Rafflesia can be confusing because this common name also refers to the titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) of the family Araceae.
Thanks! Now for some research 😉
🙂
Those flower you can find in Thailand aswell! In the Khao Sok NP!
Thanks for sharing this information!