Rafflesia kerrii

Rafflesia kerrii is a member of the genus Rafflesia of the small parasitic family Rafflesiaceae. It is found in the rainforest of southern Thailand and peninsular Malaysia, with notable populations in Khao Sok National Park and Khlong Phanom National Park. Local Thai names are บัวผุด (bua phut), ย่านไก่ต้ม (yan kai tom) and บัวตูม (bua tum).

The red flowers typically have a diameter of 50–90 cm (19+1⁄2–35+1⁄2 in) and smell awfully of rotten meat to attract flies for pollination. This species has some claim to being the world's largest flower, for although the average size of R. arnoldii is greater than the average R. kerrii, there have been two recent specimens of R. kerrii of exceptional size; one specimen found in the Lojing Highlands of peninsular Malaysia on 7 April 2004 by Prof. Dr. Kamarudin Mat-Salleh, and his associate Mat Ros, measured 111 cm (43+1⁄2 in) in width, while another found in 2007 in Kelantan State, peninsular Malaysia by Dr. Gan Canglin measured 112 cm (44 in). The plant is a parasite to the wild grapes of the genus Tetrastigma (T. leucostaphylum, T. papillosum and T. quadrangulum), but only the flowers are visible. The remainder of the plant is a network of fibres penetrating all of the tissues of the Tetrastigma; these fibres, although Angiosperm in nature, closely resemble a fungal mycelium. Small buds appear along the lianas and roots of the host, which after nine months open as giant flowers. After just one week the flower wilts.