The “Rafflesia arnoldii,” which Dylan Thuras posted about at BoingBoing:
“The Rafflesia arnoldii, a rare and endangered plant known as the ‘giant panda of the plant world’ bears the world’s largest flower. A parasitic plant the Rafflesia lives most of its life within the roots of another plant. Eventually a blossom breaks through the root, grows up to three feet wide, and smells almost exactly like a dead body.
Known as a corpse flower or Carrion flower the Rafflesia releases a scent that smells like a rotting corpse, and the flowers petals bear a similar coloration to that of rotten meat. And while the flower smells terrible to humans, it smells like dinner to the carrion beetles and flesh flies which swarm all over the corpse flowers helping them to pollinate.”
