rafflesia

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

noun

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.

Origin of rafflesia

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

Words Nearby rafflesia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rafflesia in a sentence

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.
DNA of Giant ‘Corpse Flower’ Parasite Surprises Biologists | Christie Wilcox | April 21, 2021 | Quanta Magazine
This extraordinary rafflesia Arnoldii is the biggest flower in the world.
The Romance of Plant Life | G. F. Scott Elliot
The poisons of rafflesia, muscarine, and orsere are introduced in his fictions; somewhere he devotes an essay to toxicology.
The Merry-Go-Round | Carl Van Vechten
The remarkable Javanese fungus rafflesia belongs to this order.
Botany for Ladies | Jane Loudon
The guide who was some distance behind, came up with a rafflesia bud.
Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and The | William Griffith

British Dictionary definitions for rafflesia

rafflesia

/ (ræˈfliːzɪə) /

noun

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

Origin of rafflesia

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Browse