2 Amazing Plant and Flower Facts

1. Rafflesia Arnoldi-The world's largest and rarest flower is from the jungles of Southeast Asia. The rafflesia arnoldi can reach a diameter of up to three feet and weigh as much as fifteen pounds. This heavy flower is pollinated by beetles and flies. It has no roots, leaves or stems and the disembodied blossom grows only as a parasite on the vines of another plant.The large single flower has no chlorophyll. The huge fleshy, fungus like petals are reddish-brown spotted with white. Very little is known about the rafflesia arnoldi because it is difficult to travel deep into the dense rainforest. It has been impossible to duplicate its environment in which it lives therefore it has been unattainable to grow it in confinement. When the flower is ready for reproduction it gives off a potent stench of decay to attract its insect pollinators. The flowers can be smelled long before they are seen. This rare flower is near extinction because of the destruction of its habitat, the rainforest.
2. Water Lilies- The royal, or giant, water lily is one of the wonders of the plant world. On the Amazon River, their buds begin to open in the morning and by mid-afternoon are fully opened, staying open all night. Among all the blossoms, only one flower opens at a time. The huge leaves of the water lily can reach up to six feet across and are strong enough to support the weight of a child. Water lilies are probably the oldest group of flowering plants. The earliest known fossilized pollen originated from one of these plants about 140 million years ago.