1. Rafflesia arnoldii: this parasitic plant develops the world's largest
bloom that can grow over three feet across. The flower is a fleshy color,
with spots that make it look like a teenager's acne-ridden skin. It smells
bad and has a hole in the center that holds six or seven quarts of water.
The plant has no leaves, stems, or roots.


2. Hydnora africana, an unusual flesh-colored, parasitic flower that
attacks the nearby roots of shrubby in arid deserts of South Africa. The
putrid-smelling blossom attracts herds of carrion beetles.


3. Dracunculus vulgaris: smells like rotting flesh, and has a burgundy-
colored, leaf-like flower that projects a slender, black appendage.



4. Amorphophallus: means, literally, "shapeless penis." The name comes
from the shape of the erect black spadix.


