Rafflesia Park where the flowers are numbered and monitored by the park rangers. "Rafflesia" are also remarkable for showing a large horizontal transfer of genes from their host plants. This is well known among bacteria, but not higher organisms. The name "corpse flower" applied to "Rafflesia" can be confusing because this common name also refers to the titan arum ("Amorphophallus titanum") of the family Araceae. Moreover, because "Amorphophallus" has the world's largest unbranched inflorescence, it is sometimes mistakenly credited as having the world's largest flower. Both "Rafflesia" and "Amorphophallus" are flowering plants, but they are only distantly related. "Rafflesia arnoldii" has
Rafflesia arnoldii a vascular plant. Similar to fungi, individuals grow as thread-like strands of tissue completely embedded within and in intimate contact with surrounding host cells from which nutrients and water are obtained. This plant produces no leaves, stems or roots and does not have chlorophyll. It can only be seen outside the host plant when it is ready to reproduce. Perhaps the only part of "Rafflesia" that is identifiable as distinctly plant-like are the flowers, though even these are unusual since they attain massive proportions, have a reddish-brown coloration, and stink of rotting flesh. This scent attracts insects such as flies