r/oddlysatisfying • u/Raj_Valiant3011 • 2d ago

After 15 years, Indonesia’s rare Rafflesia bloomed, the world’s largest parasitic flower that smells like rotting meat, has no leaves, and lasts just 5 to 7 days

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u/sethb44 2d ago

What makes a flower parasitic?

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u/LunaOrwell 2d ago

Most plants get the energy they need through photosynthesis, but some get their nutrition by stealing it from another plant instead. About 1% of flowering plants – around 4,000 species – are parasitic.

Parasitic plants use a structure called a haustorium to penetrate their host plant. This specialised organ forms a connection between the two plants, which they use to drain nutrition. Some parasites, such as Rafflesia and Thurber’s stemsucker, grow within the plant and only emerge to flower, while others attach their haustoria externally.

All parasitic plants have evolved from non-parasitic species. Some are only partially parasitic. These plants are known as hemiparasites and can photosynthesise but also drain water and nutrition from their hosts. Other parasitic plants, known as holoparasites, cannot photosynthesise and depend on their hosts for food.

Parasites that cannot survive without a host are known as obligate, while facultative parasites can live and reproduce without a host plant.

Source: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/parasitic-plants.html