Botanical Sketches 3-Rafflesia

Another botanical sketch in pencil - Rafflesia arnoldii.

From Wikipedia:

"Rafflesia is a genus of parasitic flowering plants, found in southeastern Asia, on the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and the Philippines.

The plant has no stems, leaves or true roots. The only part of the plant that can be seen outside the host vine is the five-petaled flower.

In some species, such as Rafflesia arnoldii, the flower may be over 100 centimetres in diameter, and weigh up to 10 kilograms. The flowers look and smell like rotting flesh, thus providing its local names which translate to "corpse flower" or "meat flower". The vile smell that the flower gives off attracts insects such as flies and carrion beetles, which transport pollen from male to female flowers."