- [Narrator] On the lower slopes of the mountain,
a plant grows that has no leaves at all,
or even a stem.
All that can be seen is this, a bud.
(mysterious music)
It is a parasite.
(dramatic music) (leaves crackling)
The rest of its body lies
within the tissues of a liana on which it feeds.
(mysterious music)
After about five years,
the bud finally opens into a monstrous flower.
It now has only a day or so
in which to be pollinated before it starts to wither.
Its petals are the color of blood.
Their surface is tough and warty.
(mysterious music)
It appears to have fur,
even whiskers and teeth.
At first sight, it might be mistaken for a dead animal.
This is Rafflesia, the corpse flower.
More than three feet across,
it's the world's biggest flower.
(mysterious music)
And this one is a male.
From its center comes the pungent odor of death.
(dramatic music)
It's a scent that might not appeal to every animal
but it's very attractive to carrion flies.
They lay their eggs on rotting flesh.
(mysterious music)
(flies buzzing)
The scent lures the fly deep
into the flower in search of meat.
(dramatic music)
The fly finds nothing.
The Rafflesia, however, has the fly exactly
where it wants it.
(dramatic music)
It stuck pollen to the fly's back.
(mysterious music)
If this male Rafflesia's strategy is to work,
the fly carrying its pollen
must now visit a female corpse flyer,
such as this one.
(dramatic music) (leaves crackling)
(fly buzzing)
Success.