Page 53 - (DK) I Can’t Believe It! 2

STRANGE BUT TRUE! 51

FAST FACTS
The diameter of
the largest
Each flower is made Rafflesia flowers
up of red lobes with is equivalent
to half the height
white spots, resting of an adult man.
on a cup-like structure.

Though other flowers have larger
clusters of flower heads, the
corpse flower is the largest single
flower. It can reach 3 ft (90 cm)
wide and weigh 22 lb (10 kg).

The flower
buds are used
in traditional
medicine to aid
recovery after
childbirth.

Rafflesia arnoldii, as it is formally
known, uses disgusting odors to
lure flies and other insects to pollinate
the plant. Native to the rain forests
of Borneo and Sumatra, it takes up to
10 months to bloom fully before the
flower dies a week later. The plant
has no leaves or stem, but lives as a
parasite inside a host plant, hidden
from view until the flower bud bursts
through and the giant bloom unfurls.

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