(Plantae)+Rafflesia+arnoldii

=//Rafflesia arnoldii//=


 * Kingdom || Plantae ||
 * Phylum || Anthophyta ||
 * Class || Magnoliopsida ||
 * Order || Rafflesiales ||
 * Family || Rafflesiaceae ||
 * Genus || Rafflesia ||
 * Species || //Rafflesia arnoldii// ||

Phylum: Anthophyta (Angiosperms)
"Anthophyta" means "flowering plant;" the phylum includes over 235000 species of plants, making it the phylum with the largest number of species in its kingdom. The term "angiosperms" refers to the seeds inside of the fruit. The majority of species in the phylum are photosynthetic, but there are exceptions such as parasitic plants (mistletoe, Rafflesia arnoldii) and insectivorous plants (pitcher plants, venus fly traps. Species in this phylum possess flowers, the main reproductive structure of flowering plants, and use spores and seeds for reproduction.

Rafflesia arnoldii
The //Rafflesia arnoldii// is a flowering, parasitic plant that does not have chlorophyll, and hence, does not use photosynthesis for nutrients. Instead, it is a parasitic plant that uses only certain species of Tetrastigma as hosts (a member of the common grape family), found in the same range. It is found in southeast Asia. Although it is parasitic, it rarely kills its host.

Its uniqueness lies in its vile-smelling flower that can reach massive proportions; it is named the "corpse flower" locally because of its smell.

Morphological and Physiological Features
The //R. arnoldii// is unique in that it has no leaves, roots, or stems. Like a fungi, it has thread-like tissues that integrate with the host organism. Furthermore, it produces the world's largest flower, that can obtain a diameter of up to 1m and a weight of 10kg. The flower takes one year to bud, during which it appears similar to a red cabbage growing from the host vine. The flower blooms for up to 1 week, during which it emits the strong stench of advanced decomposition. The flower itself is usually a brownish red, thus it mimics carrion. This trait attracts flies and other insects to pollinate it. The plant produces round fruits 15cm in diameter, each containing thousands of seeds. Squirrels and tree shrews are thought to be the main distributors of the seeds.

//R. arnoldii//s of the same sex tend to appear in the same area. This, combined with its bloom of only 1 week, the encroaching habitat destruction in its habitat, and the fact that both female and male flowers must be blooming within a certain distance of each other, makes successful pollination rare. Consequentially, because of its rarity, it attracts many tourists who want to experience the bloom of the "corpse flower."



Range
The //R. arnoldii// is found in southeast Asia. It lives on the islands of Sumatra and Java of Indonesia, and the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak. The green shaded areas indicate the general whereabouts of the //R. arnoldii//.