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Webster 1913 Edition


Rafflesia

‖

Raf-fle′si-a

(răf-flē′zhĭ-ȧ)
,
Noun.
[NL. Named from its discoverer,
Sir S.
Raffles
.]
(Bot.)
A genus of stemless, leafless plants, living parasitically upon the roots and stems of grapevines in Malaysia. The flowers have a carrionlike odor, and are very large, in one species (
Rafflesia Arnoldi
) having a diameter of two or three feet.