Can I grow this at home?

No, it is an obligate parasite that requires specific host vines found only in rainforests.

Why does it smell so bad?

The scent mimics rotting flesh to attract carrion flies and beetles for pollination.

Plant guide

Corpse Lily.

Rafflesia arnoldii

Pronounced ruh-FLEE-zee-uh ar-NOL-dee-eye

Also known as Rafflesia arnoldii, Arnold's rafflesia, corpse flower, corpse lily, monster flower, stinking corpse lily

This rare parasitic plant is famous for producing the largest individual flower on Earth. It lacks visible leaves, stems, or roots, as it lives entirely inside its host vine. You will only see it when it emerges to bloom, which is a truly remarkable sight.

At a glance

Care level: Difficult
Plant type: Parasitic plant
Light: Deep shade
Indoor light: Low light
Water: Every 0 days
Mature size: 3 feet in diameter
Growth rate: Slow
Hardiness: USDA 11 to 12
Bloom time: Irregular, typically following heavy rains

Care

This plant cannot be grown in a home garden because it requires a specific host vine and a complex rainforest ecosystem. It is a parasite that relies on Tetrastigma vines for all its nutrients. Do not attempt to cultivate this species outside of its native habitat.

Watering: This plant relies on its host vine for water.
Feeding: This plant does not require fertilizer as it is a parasite.
Pruning: Pruning is not applicable for this species.
Repotting: This plant cannot be potted or moved.
Soil: Not applicable
Soil pH: Not applicable
Temperature: 18 to 30°C
Humidity: 80 to 100%

Safety

People: The plant is not considered toxic, but its extreme odor makes it unpalatable.
Children: Keep children away as the plant is rare and its scent is highly off-putting.
Contact allergens: Contact with the decaying tissues can be unpleasant due to bacteria.
Airborne allergens: The intense odor of rotting meat can trigger nausea in sensitive individuals.
Edibility: This plant is not edible and possesses no culinary value.

How to identify it

Massive five lobed fleshy flower
Strong odor of decaying flesh
Reddish brown petals with white spots
Lacks stems and leaves
Grows directly on host vines

Height: 0.1 to 0.2m
Spread: 0.7 to 1m
Leaves: deciduous
Flowers: red, white, 70 to 100cm
Fruit: brown, Late summer

Problems to watch for

Habitat destruction · The loss of host vines leads to the death of the parasite.

By symptom

Plant problems by symptom

Check your corpse lily from a photo

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Growing it

Propagation: seed

This plant cannot be cultivated in a garden setting.

Grows well with

Tetrastigma vine · This is the essential host plant required for the parasite to survive.

Similar species

Corpse flower · Often confused due to its large size and foul odor.

Science

Family: Rafflesiaceae
Genus: Rafflesia
Order: Malpighiales
Class: Magnoliopsida
Native range: Rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo.
Conservation: This species is threatened by habitat loss and is protected in its native range.

It lives as an endoparasite within the stems of Tetrastigma vines.

Value to wildlife: attracts carrion flies for pollination
Pollinators: beetles
Uses: botanical curiosity

Through the year

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Flowering

Fruiting

Foliage

Ecological indicators

Salinity: 0/9
Soil reaction: 5/9
Light: 2/9
Temperature: 9/9
Moisture: 9/9
Nutrients: 5/9

Taxonomy resolved against GBIF.

Questions people ask

Can I grow this at home?: No, it is an obligate parasite that requires specific host vines found only in rainforests.
Why does it smell so bad?: The scent mimics rotting flesh to attract carrion flies and beetles for pollination.

Where the name comes from

Named after Sir Stamford Raffles and Dr. Joseph Arnold who discovered it in 1818.

Good to know

It has no visible leaves, stems, or roots.
The flower smells like rotting meat to attract pollinators.
It spends most of its life inside the tissues of its host vine.
The buds can take months to develop before blooming for only a few days.

Also in

Plants for shade

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This page is a general guide. Save your plant in Pocket Botanist and you get care reminders timed for this plant, plus a care history that shows what worked.

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This guide was generated with AI on September 26, 2026 and checked against GBIF taxonomy. It is general information, not horticultural or veterinary advice. Read about how we build these guides.