rafflesia

[ ruh-flee-zhuh, -zhee-uh, -zee-uh, ra- ]

noun

1. any stemless, leafless, parasitic plant of the genus Rafflesia, of the Malay Peninsula and Republic of Indonesia, characterized by apetalous flowers, measuring 3 inches–3 feet (8–90 centimeters) in diameter, that exude a putrid odor: now greatly reduced in number.

rafflesia

/ ræˈfliːzɪə /

noun

1. any of various tropical Asian parasitic leafless plants constituting the genus Rafflesia , esp R. arnoldi , the flowers of which grow up to 45 cm (18 inches) across, smell of putrid meat, and are pollinated by carrion flies: family Rafflesiaceae

Word History and Origins

Origin of rafflesia¹

From New Latin (1821), after T. S. Raffles, who obtained the type specimen

Word History and Origins

Origin of rafflesia¹

C19: New Latin, named after T. S. Raffles , who discovered it

Example Sentences

As she and her colleagues described it in a 2014 paper in Molecular Biology and Evolution, they successfully assembled the mitochondrial DNA from one Philippines species of Rafflesia.

From Quanta Magazine

This extraordinary Rafflesia Arnoldii is the biggest flower in the world.

From Project Gutenberg

The poisons of rafflesia, muscarine, and orsere are introduced in his fictions; somewhere he devotes an essay to toxicology.

From Project Gutenberg

The remarkable Javanese fungus Rafflesia belongs to this order.

From Project Gutenberg

The guide who was some distance behind, came up with a Rafflesia bud.

From Project Gutenberg