I love the smaller creatures of the undergrowth, but with Rafflesia I always make an exception! I simply love the biggest flower on Earth. This Rafflesia tuan-mudae from Gunung Gading National Park was blooming since three days. It was in its full splendor and I couldn’t miss to shoot a few images of this unique flower. The plant itself is only constituted by a web of parasitic roots bond to a vine (Tetrastigma sp.) which gives to Rafflesia everything to live and bloom. The flower is very short lived and it eventually rot like the black one visible in this image after 5 days. The plant is pollinated by different species of flies (mainly belonging to two genera) cause it smells like rotten meat. #gununggading #rafflesia #plant #green #parasite #bloom #flower #red #borneo #malaysia #forest #plants (presso Gunung Gading National Park, Lundu)
