Sunday, 2 November 2014

Rafflesia





The ROM is one of the best museums in Canada and on Oct 31st my biology class and I were given the privilege to attend a tour. During the tour what amazed me the most was a flower called the Rafflesia.




The Rafflesia is the worlds heaviest flower and surprisingly this flower has no stems leaves or true roots. The Rafflesia is also sometimes known as the corpse flower because it gives off the smell of rotting flesh. Other flowers release a descent scent in order to attract insects for pollination. The fact that the Rafflesia has a rotting scent indicates that the insects it targets are flies and other organisms attracted to the smell of rotting.



The rafflesia that was on display at the ROM was unfortunately a life sized replica. Having a real flower in a museum would be unrealistic as it would probably wilt and die.Other than smelling like a corpse the Rafflesia is also known for having no leaves and stems. The red petals on the flower show that it cant photosynthesis. How can a plant survive without phphotosynthesis. The Rafflesia is actually a parasite. It has roots however these roots dont get minerals from the soil, the Rafflesia's roots suck nutrients from other plants. It is with this method that the Rafflesia has no need to photosynthesis. The Rafflesia also has very strict blooming seasons, it will only bloom once a year and wilt in around 3 days. The Rafflesia blooms have to be synchronized or else pollination bettween males and females wont occur.

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