Why is the rafflesia so big?

Answer 1

his incredible flower, found primarily in the shady lowland tropical forests of Indonesia, has by far the largest bloom of any flower and is one of the world's rarest and most endangered plants. Almost one meter wide and weighing over 6 pounds, it is a fleshy, malodorous plant, I have highlighted here since it is a symbol for all other endangered rainforest plants.

The flower is an excellent example of how fragile some components of the tropical forest are, for its very survival is totally dependent on one particular vine called Tetrastigma, related to the grapevine. The Rafflesia is a disembodied flower. A rootless, leafless and stemless parasite, it drains nourishment and gains physical support from its host vine. Its only body outside the flower consists of strands of fungus-like tissue that grow inside the Tetrastigma vine. It first manifests itself as a tiny bud on the vine's roots or stem. But over a period of 12 months, it swells to a cabbage-like head that bursts around midnight under the cover of a rainy night to reveal this startling, lurid-red flower.

Inside the cauldron-like cup is a spiked disk. And attached to its underside are either stigmas or stamens, depending upon whether the plant is male or female. By now you've probably noticed the characteristic rotting-meat smell that gives the plant its local name: "corpse flower." The odor attracts carrion-scavenging flies and beetles into the plant to pollinate it. But the full-grown flower lasts only about a week before it dies, so seeing one up close like this is lucky indeed.

Answer 2

Because it is very stinky so the locals get rid of them so they dont stink

Answer 3

Because of the loss of habitat as human population clears rainforest