Found only in the Philippines and other Southeast Asian rainforests, rafflesia produces the world’s largest individual flowers that include several endemic species. Also known as parasitic plants, rafflesia is known for their putrid smell (with some calling it a corpse smell), which attracts pollinating insects.
Several species, including Rafflesia speciosa, Rafflesia philippensis, and Rafflesia manillana, are endemic to the Philippines, meaning they are found nowhere else in the world. They are, however, considered extinct due to habitat loss, deforestation, and other threats, such as people using them as attraction to earn money.
Rafflesia flowers are huge with some producing more than a meter in size. They don’t have roots or leaves and lack chlorophyl, relying entirely on their host, a vine, for nutrients.
Today, conservationists are struggling to save these unique flowers particularly in the Philippines, which scientists consider to be one of the few centers of diversity to 13 species.
