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The largest flower in the world, the rafflesia
arnoldi, weighs 7 kg (15 pounds) and grows only on the Sumatra and
Borneo islands of Indonesia. Its petals grow to 1 metre long
and 1 inch (2,5 cm) thick.
There are 16 species of rafflesia, found in Sumatra, Malaysia,
Philippines and Borneo. The species is named after the naturalist Sir
Stamford Raffles, who founded the British colony of Singapore in 1819.
Raffles discovered the parasitic plant with his friend Dr. Joseph Arnold
during their travels in May 1818. The rafflesia arnoldi is named after
the two.
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However fascinating and beautiful the rafflesia arnoldi may be, it is
also called “corpse flower” and really reeks, the latter to attract
flies for pollination.
Of about 200,000 kinds of flowers in the world, the smallest is the
duckweed, which can only be seen with a microscope.
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Oldest living thing
The oldest living thing on earth is a flowering shrub called the
creosote bush, found in the Mojave Desert. It is 15 metres (50 ft) in
diameter. It is estimated that it started from a seed nearly 12,000
years ago. During its lifetime the last major period of glaciation in
North America came to an end, the wheel and writing were invented, and
the great Egyptian and Mayan pyramids were built. The shrub is still
living.
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