What does "rafflesia" mean?

Any of several large parasitic plants, of the genus Rafflesia, from South East Asia, that have no roots, stems or leaves; Rafflesia arnoldii has the largest known flower with a diameter of over a yard.

How do you pronounce "rafflesia"?

Pronounced //ɹəˈfliː.ʒə//.

Rafflesia

//ɹəˈfliː.ʒə// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
Any of several large parasitic plants, of the genus Rafflesia, from South East Asia, that have no roots, stems or leaves; Rafflesia arnoldii has the largest known flower with a diameter of over a yard.

Example

More examples

"The flower I saw in the park yesterday was a rafflesia."

Etymology

Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Rafflesia.

Related phrases

rafflesia arnoldii

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.