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Rafflesia patma is a parasitic plant species of the genus Rafflesia. It is only known to grow on the Indonesian island of Java, although it may have occurred on Sumatra in the past (and may still occur there). Like other species in its genus, this plant has no leaves, stems, roots or chlorophyll, instead stealing all its nutrition from Tetrastigma leucostaphylum, a rainforest liana.
The anatomy of this plant has devolved into mycelium-like strands of cells infecting the internal vascular system of its host. The species' five-lobed flowers measure 30 to 60 cm across, and stink with the odour of rotting flesh. This stench attracts mostly female carrion flies searching for a place to lay their eggs.
This plant perhaps only occurs on the island of Java in Indonesia. It is thought to also have occurred in southern Sumatra, but overharvesting of the flowers may have caused it to become extirpated from this island.
Stinking corpse lily · Rafflesia aurantia · Rafflesia azlanii · Rafflesia baletei · Rafflesia bengkuluensis · Rafflesia borneensis · Rafflesia cantleyi · Rafflesia ciliata · Rafflesia consueloae · Rafflesia gadutensis · Rafflesia hasseltii · Rafflesia keithii
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Rafflesia patma by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
