Rafflesia arnoldii of Sumatra and Borneo. To help counter the over-collection of this rare plant, residents that have "Rafflesia" on their private property are encouraged to save the flowers and charge a small fee to see them. Rafflesia arnoldii Rafflesia arnoldii, commonly called the corpse lily, is a species of flowering plant in the parasitic genus "Rafflesia". It is noted for producing the largest individual flower on Earth. It has a very strong and unpleasant odour of decaying flesh, earning it the nickname "corpse flower". It is endemic to the rainforests of Sumatra and possibly Borneo. Although there are some plants with
Rafflesia arnoldii national flowers in Indonesia, the other two being the white jasmine and moon orchid. It was officially recognized as a national "rare flower" () in Presidential Decree No. 4 in 1993. The first European botanist to find a specimen of a "Rafflesia" was the French explorer Louis Auguste Deschamps (1765–1842). He was a member of a French scientific expedition to Asia and the Pacific. During the expedition, he spent three years on Java, where, in 1797, he collected a specimen of what is now known as "R. patma". During the return voyage in 1798, his ship was taken by the