Biologists find one of the rarest (and smelliest) flowers in the world after 13 years of research and burst into tears

Thirteen years of walking in the tropical rain, of nights spent in the dense vegetation and of hopes deferred: this is the long journey that led a group of researchers to discover one of the most elusive plants on the planet, the Rafflesia hasseltii. The scene, captured in a video that has already made the rounds on social media, shows the irrepressible emotion of the Indonesian explorer Septian “Deki” Andrikithat, kneeling in front of the long-sought flower.

Next to him is Dr. Chris Thorogood, a biologist from the University of Oxford, who defined the moment as “electricNot surprising: the group had crossed areas of the jungle patrolled by tigers, facing difficult terrain to get to this very rare bloom. For Thorogood, that moment of silence in front of the large spotted petals was “outside the real world”.

A very rare flowering

Rafflesia hasseltii is not just a flower: it is a botanical enigma. It is a completely parasitic species, which lives inside particular tropical lianas, emerging outside only for a few days when the time for flowering arrives. It takes up to nine months for the bud to develop and the window to see it open is very short. That’s why it is described as a flower.”seen more by tigers than people”.

The team was lucky enough to witness the phase in which the red giant opens, revealing its characteristic dotted petals. Thorogood confided that it almost looked like the flower “opened especially for them”, a coincidence that is unlikely to be repeated with such precision.

A giant who smells like… a corpse

In addition to its impressive appearance, this species is also known for another distinctive trait: its smell. Rafflesia emits an intense smell of rotting flesh, which is why it is often called “corpse flower”. This strategy serves to attract flies and necrophilic insects which, believing they will find a real corpse in which to lay their eggs, end up pollinating it.

There are more than 40 species of the Rafflesia genus worldwide and many are critically endangered due to habitat destruction. Precisely for this reason, institutions such as the Oxford Botanic Garden are attempting to start an international conservation group with the aim of protecting these extraordinary plants before they disappear completely.

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