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rafflesia

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raf⋅fle⋅sia

  [ruh-flee-zhuh, -zhee-uh, -zee-uh, ra-]
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–noun
any stemless, leafless, parasitic plant of the genus Rafflesia, of the Malay Peninsula and Republic of Indonesia, characterized by apetalous flowers, measuring 3 in.–3 ft. (8 cm–90 cm) in diameter, that exude a putrid odor: now greatly reduced in number.
Origin:
< NL (1821), after T. S. Raffles, who obtained the type specimen
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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raf·fle·sia   (rā-flē'zhə)   
n.  Any of various parasitic plants of the genus Rafflesia of tropical Asia, having small, brownish, scalelike leaves and fleshy, apetalous, foul-smelling flowers of various sizes. The species R. arnoldii has the largest flowers among all flowering plants, often measuring up to 1 meter (approximately 40 inches) in diameter.

[New Latin, genus name, after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

rafflesia 
genus of Malaysian plants, 1820, named for Sir T. Stamford Raffles (1781-1826), British governor of Sumatra, who introduced it to the West. He reports the native name was petimum sikinlili "Devil's betel-box."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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