Comment on Hmmmmm
Zerush@lemmy.ml 3 months ago
The mask is to prevent vomiting on this flower, it is a Rafflesia arnoldii, the largest flower that exists. It needs flies for pollination, which itattracts with a strong smell similar to a decomposing corpse.
flora_explora@beehaw.org 3 months ago
Fascinating that the only aboveground part of the plant is its flower! Hard to imagine how it is parasitizing some vines underground and then all of a sudden produces this monster of a flower!
Although it is the largest flower, it isn’t the largest inflorescence haha
Zerush@lemmy.ml 3 months ago
For the flower it is irrelevant if it smells good or bad, it is a simple question of producing the necessary moleculas for one thing or another to attract the needed insects.