July 2000
Did you
know that the petals of the largest flower are ½ metre (1,6 feet)
long?
The largest flower in the world, the
rafflesia arnoldi, weighs 7 kg (15 pounds) and grows only on the Sumatra island of
Indonesia. Its petals grow to ½ metre (1,6 feet) long and 2,5 cm (1
inch) thick.
Rafflesia arnoldi - world's largest flower
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There are 16 species of rafflesia, found in
Sumatra, Malaysia and Borneo. The species is named after the naturalist Sir Stamford
Raffles, who founded the British colony of Singapore in 1819. Raffles discovered the
parasitic plant with his friend Dr. Joseph Arnold during their travels in May 1818. The rafflesia
arnoldi is named after the two.
However fascinating and beautiful the
rafflesia arnoldi may be, it is also called "corpse flower" and really
reeks,
the latter to attract flies for pollination.
Of about 200,000 kinds of flowers in the
world, the smallest is the duckweed, which can only be seen with a
microscope.
source:http://www.didyouknow.com/flowers.htm |
