Let’s Begin…

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.