What is Rafflesia?
{{italictitle}} {{taxobox | name = ''Rafflesia'' | image = Rafflesia sumatra.jpg | image_width = 250px | image_caption = ''Rafflesia arnoldii'' flower and bud | regnum = [[Plant]]ae | divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]] | classis = [[Magnoliopsida]] | ordo = [[Malpighiales]] | familia = [[Rafflesiaceae]] | genus = '''''Rafflesia''''' | subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]}} '''''Rafflesia''''' is a [[genus]] of [[flowering plants]]. They are found in southeastern Asia, on the [[Malay Peninsula]], [[Borneo]], [[Sumatra]], [[Thailand]] and the [[Philippines]].<ref name='VJR'>[http://sabah.gov.my VJR Rafflesia Reserve, Forestry Department Sabah, Malaysia]</ref> They are the biggest single flowers in the world.<ref>As contrasted to the [[Titan arum]] (''Amorphophallus titanum''), which has the largest unbranched [[inflorescence]], and the [[Talipot palm]] (''Corypha umbraculifera''), which has the largest branched inflorescence .</ref> In one [[species]] the flowers can be over a meter (three feet) across. The flowers smell like a dead animal,<ref>{{cite web|author=Library of Congress|title=What is the largest flower in the world?|website=[[Library of Congress]]|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/flower.html|accessdate=August 28, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Western Michigan University|title=Rafflesia|url=http://unix.cc.wmich.edu/~tbarkman/rafflesia/Rafflesia.html|accessdate=August 28, 2012|archive-date=July 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707224001/http://unix.cc.wmich.edu/~tbarkman/rafflesia/Rafflesia.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> which attracts flies. The flies, which normally lay their eggs on rotten flesh, [[pollinate]] the ''Rafflesia'' when they get inside. ''Rafflesia'' is a [[parasite]], and does not use [[chlorophyll]]. The plant has no [[Plant stem|stem]], [[leaves]] or true [[root]]s. It lives inside [[vines]] of the genus ''Tetrastigma'' ([[Vitaceae]]). It spreads its [[wikt:absorb|absorptive]] organ, the haustorium, inside the tissue of the vine. The only part of the plant th