Blooming Big: Rafflesia (unflowery, un-fragrant)

May I introduce Rafflesia, the biggest flower in the world. Specimens can be found throughout Southeast Asia. It was named after Sir Stamford Raffles, who was a member of the first British expedition to see the flower in 1818 (he was also, incidentally, the colonial founder of Singapore). I came across Rafflesia when I visited Sabah in Borneo. It’s not really a proper flower (no stems, leaves, or roots), but a parasite that lives off a vine. Bit sinister, if you ask me. Not very flowery, is it? Allegedly, they smell of rotting flesh, although I don’t recall getting close enough to experience this particular sensory joy. Apparently the largest one ever recorded was over 100cm in diameter. I didn’t see any quite as big as that, but they were still pretty impressive; if not actually pretty, if you see what I mean. Do you like the look of it?