The surprising scent of the world’s largest flower - Daniel Nickrent

Explore how the Rafflesia plant uses parasitic strategies to grow the world’s largest flower, and find out why it smells so bad.
--
Deep inside the Sumatran rainforest, a carrion fly descends, guided by the scent of its favorite place to lay eggs: rotting animal carcasses. But when it lands, it isn’t on liquifying flesh, but instead on the world’s biggest, and perhaps strangest, flower- Rafflesia arnoldii. So, how does this giant flower grow? Daniel Nickrent explores the parasitic tendencies of the foul-smelling plant.
Lesson by Daniel Nickrent, directed by Igor Ćorić, Artrake Studio.
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Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Carsten Tobehn, Katie Dean, Ezgi Yersu, Gerald Onyango, alessandra tasso, Doreen Reynolds-Consolati, Manognya Chakrapani, Ayala Ron, Eunsun Kim, Phyllis Dubrow, Ophelia Gibson Best, Paul Schneider, Joichiro Yamada, Henrique Cassús, Karthik Cherala, Clarence E. Harper Jr., Vignan Velivela, Ana Maria, Exal Enrique Cisneros Tuch, Tejas Dc, Khalifa Alhulail, Martin Stephen, Jose Henrique Leopoldo e Silva, Mandeep Singh, Abhijit Kiran Valluri, Morgan Williams, Devin Harris, Pavel Zalevskiy, Karen Goepen-Wee, Filip Dabrowski, Barbara Smalley, Megan Douglas, Tim Leistikow, Ka-Hei Law, Hiroshi Uchiyama, Mark Morris, Misaki Sato, EdoKun, SookKwan Loong, Bev Millar, Lex Azevedo, Michael Aquilina, Jason A Saslow, Yansong Li, Cristóbal Moenne, Dawn Jordan, Prasanth Mathialagan, Samuel Doerle, David Rosario and Dominik Kugelmann - they-them.

[@riton349]

Stealing DNA is the most insane concept I ever heard of

[@adutheraptor286]

Same here.

[@darexinfinity]

Ayyyy gurl let take that DNA from you.

[@user-kt8tq4gy2q]

fact

[@dedsussybaka4619]

38.000 years from now There would be genestealers

[@spacepatricia6268]

Same

[@PLScypion]

What I knew before watching this video: Rafflesia is a plant with interesting big flowers. What I know after watching this video: Rafflesia is a freaking lovecraftian horror of plant world.

[@jamesmedalla7043]

+ its a freaking pokemon

[@IBSSnape]

That stinky bad boy is an absolute unit.

[@tarragon111]

@@jamesmedalla7043 literally a vileplume

[@khanes5376]

As an Indonesian, I am sad that I still haven't seen one of these myself.

[@utasuko]

bro, life is long

[@yellowstarproductions6743]

​@@utasukoyet life is too short not take risk

[@arnoldmbuthia2687]

Well... it's probably due to environmental destruction. Indonésie has the 2nd greatest plastic pollution in the world.

[@parikalanyantra69]

😮

[@aprilrahee]

I thought it is common for Indonesians to see it 😢

[@siennaesther6314]

I did a report on the flower in the 4th grade(well over 15 years ago) I had forgotten the name since then, but still thought about how it astonished me. Yesterday, I thought of it again and now I’m stumbling across this video. Thank you.

[@federicoap5295]

The Largest Flower in the world, glad i got a chance to see it in Bogor Botanical Garden, Indonesia

[@aliminhas5981]

Why is the art style getting more corporate like

[@way9883]

yup! bogor botanical garden is such a wonderful place if you want to learn about our native indonesian's flora

[@topherthe11th23]

@federicoap5295 - Did you also have to smell it?

[@mecahhannah]

Awesome as always thanks

[@federicoap5295]

@@topherthe11th23 tbh, i couldn't smell anything because 5 meter distance from fence. But it visibly attracted flies.

[@Obbee]

my favorite flower! this flower always fascinates me because it looks so mythical and otherworldly.

[@catto6545]

What a great video! I would like to add that an Indonesian botanist became the first person to successfully cultivated Rafflesia Padma outside their natural habitat using grafting method. She successfully grow 6-7 flowers using the grafting method.

[@sadiauddin8701]

What is the botanist’s name?

[@catto6545]

*correction 17 flowers have bloomed through this method

[@thecrochetboy]

Yeah I guess that’s the only way it’s been done yet

[@catto6545]

@@sadiauddin8701 sofi mursidawati

[@jonirojonironin5353]

Only grafting? How about from seeds? Really curious on how it grows from seed.

[@erindrawsabit804]

I always wondered what these were from seeing them in Animal Crossing.

[@Allium95]

in what game?

[@franzi6325]

@@Allium95 wild world for sure.. maybe even the very first game

[@Allium95]

@@franzi6325 thank you

[@nicche511]

@@Allium95they showed up when you didn’t pick weeds in your town 😂 my town was always a mess when i was a kid and they freaked me out so much!

[@HexaflexagonFan]

@@nicche511 no, it happens when your island is at it's lowest star rating, and not tending to those weeds could cause it

[@keisalazar]

I haven't seen one in person, but someone told me that it looks like it was hand-crafted by theatre students for a set. It smells like the combination of rotten eggs, spoiled milk, and feces. How I wish the science world can figure out more about this plant and its significance to the Southeast Asian history.

[@lindyloohoo]

Had no idea it was a parasite. Great video

[@loki2240]

I also thought they ate the flies.

[@SwampNymph522]

I like to compare this plant to a hobo running an illegitimate business out of someone else’s home mooching off their housekeeping resources.

[@HexaflexagonFan]

@@SwampNymph522 yeah XD

[@KirstenInSpace]

Same.

[@oliverfalco7060]

This is so disgustingly interesting...

[@LordOrion3000]

Imagine gifting this flower to someone in a bouquet 💐😂.

[@cheesestudios3030]

Good idea

[@daigustoemeral3710]

"Yh sorry I thought you might like these flowers love" 😂

[@HexaflexagonFan]

this is the type of flower you would give to your ex lol

[@PhantomCat-lj9fy]

​@@HexaflexagonFanI was about to say it. 😂

[@IBSSnape]

Imagine carrying this absolute unit of a stinky bad boy to your ex's house and leaving it at their door.

[@micow9951]

Usopp : hey that flower would make for a great weapon

[@leebulger7112]

I love One Piece and Usopp.

[@_monmon.00]

the fact that this flower was named after Sir Stamford Raffles, the leader of the expedition and the founder of the British colony of Singapore - is quite ironic and funny.

[@fid.firdhaus]

Correction: it was named Rafflesia because he "discovered" it, but the locals have always called it Pakma since the early civilisation. We interchange the name Pakma/Rafflesia sometimes.

[@IBSSnape]

They share more in common than you think. Raffles was colonist, Rafflesia are parasites.

[@IBSSnape]

They share more in common than you think. Raffles was a colonist, Rafflesias are parasites.

[@_monmon.00]

@@fid.firdhaus thank you for sharing- i love learning new histories !

[@Marta1Buck]

"hey mate, we named a giant flower species after you" Well, thank you "But it smells rotten"

[@st.rgirls]

I live in Turkey and my mother suggested me to watch your videos when I was in the 5th grade, and since she suggested me, we have been turning on the Turkish subtitles and watching your videos. Your videos are really interesting!

[@bon_grippah]

A wild vileplume appeared

[@Curtis006]

So THATS why it’s called vile! Never knew

[@kazuha.gnshnmpct]

Even as a Sarawakian myself, I've never encountered a Rafflesia flower, nor have I ever been to Gunung Gading National Park (even though it's located not too far from my place) I wish I could see it someday

[@badgerp-chanqueen7707]

I'm from Sri Aman

[@Cycluing]

Ayy also a fellow Sarawakian here

[@Hestyjka2]

I absolutley love your channel, thanks!

[@udayveerrana-pv9gt]

Great Video ❤

[@choco_easty]

I never knew these amazing flowers grew in my country until now! Thanks TED Ed!

[@minhicovers]

This channel is nice and interesting, it has information as we want and I like this aspect very much, I recommend this channel.

[@user-dk2fn8wt1s]

Thank you very nice video

[@aiyannaharris7905]

This is amazing of this flower. I didn't know that all the flowers related to this flower were parasites. I'm studying botany, and i'm going to write this down and do more research on it. Now i'm curious what else this flower has to show.

[@NHCVMohammedNawaz]

My science teacher just to make the classes interesting would make up her own mythology in correlation to chapter. For Rafflesia it was "a human cursed to become a rotting flesh flower for eternity"

[@user-bp4nv3qp4d]

Astounding video😃

[@mrtienphysics666]

this video is much more detailed than others of the same topic

[@barbiquearea]

So this is where the inspiration for Vileplume came from.

[@fishygaming2554]

Vileplume’s inspiration.

[@phamxuanbinhson3465]

Love the background music!!

[@Gazuretine]

The sound effects in this video are very cool! Kinda feels like those old timey videos idk

[@user-sh5kb3rh6g]

Seriously, worth knowing

[@RaihanahHusna]

thank you for explaining the rafflesia! as an indonesian, i never seen one of those (sadly), but i always hoped to see one. btw, in indonesian, its called "Bunga bangkai" bunga is flower and bangkai is carcass ( idk just translate from the google :v)

[@Im_leaving]

Flowers are amazing

[@Luvvias]

The music is so funky

[@shane5132]

Long time no see, TED-Ed!!

[@robynbrowne1277]

we learned about these in botany class. The animation makes this flower looks way better than it does in real life

[@kalpanameenaka6179]

It's soo amazing ❤at all.

[@st.rgirls]

very good

[@DrSarhana]

Great

[@elk45]

Thought the flesh smell was the most notable thing about this flower, only to be astounded by literally every other fact about it's lifecycle.

[@JibHyourinmaru]

i saw this once when I was working in a island in malaysia, there were like 4-6 rafflessia on one tree trunk. I don't recall the smell but it was amazing

[@aquapenguin9697]

I'm guessing you mean the sight was amazing not the smell... /lighthearted

[@MrBuckman420]

Need to check out the one near me next time it blooms

[@zenstoryshare]

It is imperative to recognize the sanctity of personal genetic information and the importance of responsible use within established legal frameworks.

[@samanthakrisher8480]

I knew there was such a thing as a corpse flower( the conservatory in my city has one growing in the tropical plants section) but it different from the rafflesia, which is commonly referred to as the stinking corpse lily. I had no idea there were so many flowers that smell like dead bodies.

[@jonirojonironin5353]

Check out Asclepiads

[@sagu-keju]

That's probably Titan arum, also from southeast asia.

[@fid.firdhaus]

There's one just 10 minutes drive from my place. The variant we have is called Rafflesia Tuan Mudae.

[@ThePlanetary]

This looks like something I would draw in my drawing book

[@zhiarempola]

We have these in our city but I've never seen one since they are located in the mountains. lol

[@beyondcomplex517]

i saw this flower b4!

[@saoirsecaoimhemicx260]

Rafflesia can be seen around south east asia specifically here in the Philippines. If you are a hiker or adverous and would dare to hike the mountains around visayas zone you'll probably will see one of these. They are huge and stinky as well.

[@beccaowl7452]

I only distantly knew about this flower from my niece watching Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. She is gonna be so excited when I show her this video later!!

[@reinefantastique]

Hello my dear friend! thank you for the cool video! keep filming! I'll wait for new videos

[@Firepuma27]

The botanical gardens in Iowa had that flower

[@badgerp-chanqueen7707]

I think here at Sarawak, I still wait for the time it will blooming.

[@damie9412]

Nice

[@Alreadykn0w]

TY the Tasmanian tiger jump boost plants

[@ha-r3058]

What a mysterious flower! Been on school textbook since 4th grade all I know is the flower is endangered amd smelly.

[@bujangpalala44..]

Thank you for providing animated education and I hope you can visit me in Bengkulu with 5 species of Rafflesia

[@IIScarletKingII]

nice

[@user-eq2dx2jp6v]

Dear Addison and all ❤❤❤ hi ❤❤❤ thank youuuuuu ❤❤❤❤❤

[@eduardocornejo2903]

Reminds me of Venusaur’s flower

[@gaburieruR]

Oh, the weird flower is way weirder than I knew, fascinating

[@171QA]

Brings new meaning to deadly flower.

[@gohithsrivatsa4746]

I don't even know how a dead body smells even though I have seen them.

[@Najur.]

Wow

[@lakminikumari4981]

Just curious.. What realy draws the boundary between plants and fungus(mushrooms )

[@lakminikumari4981]

I mean even the mentioned plants lifecycle is more similar to a fungus than a plant

[@b.a.erlebacher1139]

At the cellular level they are very different. Plants cells have walls made of cellulose. Fungi have hyphae which are covered with a material similar to chitin, and the cell contents connect with adjacent cells, IIRC.

[@loki2240]

​@@lakminikumari4981- Scientists have working definitions, but each one has its limitations. Living organisms vary, and we've been unable to come up with clear, consistently-applicable definitions of plants and fungi. Same deal with animals, by the way.

[@anthonysaracho0812]

I have seen this flower. I am from the Philippines.

[@llllldrijcsujhddghjkclllllllll]

It's such a novelty I still stop to look at them.

[@GriperNews]

I live in Madison, WI. We have one growing in a hothouse at Olbrich Gardens. If no one has had any luck cultivating them, how did it get here?

[@catto6545]

There are many types of Corpse flower, other species might be possible to grow outside their natural habitat, but this specific Rafflesia is still currently unable to grow outside their natural habitat.

[@AavenTan44-Explain]

So proud to be a Southeast Asian! (Malaysian) Even though it stinks 😅 It’s a pity that the numbers of recorded number of the Rafflesia flower is decreasing due to deforestation…

[@Portato19]

I live in sumatra but i've never seen raflesia flower before

[@mk_rexx]

They got passing mentions about them having the largest flower in plants but man, they're way more interesting. They're basically plants with fungal lifestyle.

[@woozxvbnm]

uhmm from what is observed by my grandfather who would occasionally go into the woods to gather fruits, wood and whatever he could find, said that rafflesia could grow from any plants as long as it provides shade, cold temp and humidity, and it can even grow on the ground, the rafflesia would consume all insects and small animals and the remains from their body would cause the smell to attract the next victim, once the rafflesia dies most insects would consume the rafflesia then scatters the seeds, he said that the seed would slowly consume the insects and their enzyme would help until it attaches to a host, then it would attach to the plant to eat and the cycle repeats. (Didn't know if this is true though, he said that for a rafflesia to live it must kill, and the one who killed her would make her breath)😂 the smaller the rafflesia means that the biodiversity is present like there's a predator and a prey, food chain? because rafflesias would go big if there's not enough in the environment, once you see a lot of rafflesia means that the ecology is thriving and healthy, once there's less and only a one big present, means that the rafflesia should go bigger coz the food is scarce, and the bigger the rafflesia the older they are and they're not propagating when they're growing. (Might've messed up lol)

[@Sidtheman]

This is the most alien like creature I have ever heard

[@ishangimhan-zo2if]

Those flowers grow in Sri Lanka forest too. We call it "kidaram"

[@psycho5946]

Somebody already succeed growing rafflesia. Reported that you can reproduce rafflesia through grafting from infected plant host to uninfected plant host.

[@seren7173]

But I heard somewhere that not all of species of this flowers smell like corpse. Only from some videos,I never see this strange plants in real life.

[@ayaanamin3339]

wow

[@CharlotteXMoon]

Is there any way we can save them?

[@edivaldobetta4437]

This flower... This rafflesia... Is so... ONLINE.

[@MahdisAmrkh]

Rafflesia arnoldii is a big flower that grows in the rainforest. It smells like a dead body to trick some insects. These insects like to eat dead animals. When they come to the flower, they help it make more flowers. The flower needs these insects because it cannot make more flowers by itself. The flower is very rare and hard to find. It only blooms for a few days.

[@user-cm2ht2db5s]

interesting, is it possible to stop this parasite process?

[@mohd88zarif7]

This flower is really rare, I've never seen one of this myself

[@user-eq2dx2jp6v]

😂😂😂 they too broadcast 😂😂😂 very good 😂❤❤❤❤

[@tenow]

What happens with fly's eggs inside the flower though?

[@XavierAway]

the genes it steals play a role in respiration, metabolism, mitochondrial translation, and protein turnover and some others according to the BMC Genomics paper on this matter, would’ve been worth mentioning

[@topherthe11th23]

Another organism (other than bacteria) where Horizontal Gene Transfer has occurred is a tiny creature (Elysia chlorotica) that gets its fuel by eating other things, until it eats something that contains a certain chloroplast. It's not clear now but at one time it was thought that the Elysia chlorotica could then gets its energy from sunlight, as plants doing photosynthesis do. But the cholorplasts aren't sufficient for this unless the Elysia chlorotica has the DNA that enables it to work the chloroplasts properly. Absent any other evidence, it may have been assumed that Elysia chlorotica evolved this DNA independently by evolution's trial-and-error: the specimens that had this DNA out-competed and out-reproduced the specimens that lacked it, and the DNA thus passed on mutated every now and then and made that specimen better or worse at operating the chloroplasts. But it's known that it DID NOT evolve the DNA for this by trial-and-error, because the useless junk-DNA in amongst the DNA that operates the chloroplasts is identical to the DNA in the organism it ate to get the chloroplasts. Evolution would drive the WORKING DNA in both species to evolve in the same direction, but the odds AGAINST the RANDOM and USELESS filler-DNA evolving as copies of each other are astronomically large. So it's extremely likely (almost certain) that the species got the DNA for operating a chloroplast by EATING an organism containing the chloroplast, and splicing some of that organism's DNA into its own. Or so I gather.

[@steventimotiustejo4182]

I hope i can have this one for one collection if my neighbor are not annoyed with stinks

[@Harshit-vu6ky]

Ham first ham first

[@aushojjj]

Ham first ham first

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

I doubt this could be a demand during Valentine's Day.

[@nyainiguez]

Okay so what is the reason for it smelling? I know it’s to attract bugs but what is the actual biological reason like how does it produce that smell

[@ollietheUgly]

flower go brrrr

[@randomguypostanimeupdates6703]

I see this as kid but I still remember man this flower is big guy a

[@alicemanson448]

It looks like a Demogorgon's face! Makes sense, BOTH reek of corpses, just for different reasons!

[@the_wind_walker]

Demogorgon flower

[@aravindnarayanan5664]

Would it be a problem even if we lose Raflesia?

[@NichoJam-lr1xf]

vileplume would be a fossil pokemon

[@blukmage19typeR]

That's how Vileplume/Ruffresia got its look from.

[@gelarogador1275]

There are about 13 Rafflesia species here in the Philippines which is threatened due to deforestation 😢

[@r655321]

Did I miss something? But I don't really feel the video actually answers its title other than mentioning the fact that it smells of decomposition a couple times and releases different sulfur gases.

[@tekken4granted913]

Addison Anderson's voice 😌

[@purplecouch4767]

The scientists eye kinda reminds me of the pigeon from the books.