Rafflesia in Full Bloom

It's red and it's huge. It produces one of the largest flowers on earth. The Rafflesia is a parasitic plant that grows and blooms in ever so mysterious ways only noticeable when it emerges from the host plant. Growing up, I have always wanted to see one in person and I was lucky enough to see several flowers and buds on several occasions. To that, the most common question would be very closely related to its pungency. Note that I have only seen flowers of R. keithii, I do not think that they are pungent nor smell like rotten flesh at all. Perhaps, only a little when standing very closely. 

The Rafflesia was also seen on Malaysia's state definitives issued in 1979. The 1 cent stamp depicts R. hasseltii, another species that is found in Peninsular Malaysia as well as in Borneo. 

An upper right corner block of 20 with margins

Blocks of 4 featuring all states. Note that the top right block is of a different design, which was used in the Kuala Lumpur (one of the Federal Territories of Malaysia).

Blocks of 4 featuring all states.

If you can't already tell, I absolutely love the 1 cent stamp because of its striking colors. I have also found another philatelic cover commemorating a philatelic exhibition in 1991 in Malaysia featuring 20 pieces of the 1 cent stamp. 

1 cent stamp in block of 6 with pictorial cachet of the exhibition.

 1 cent stamp in block of 14.

Coming back to seeing a Rafflesia in person, here is a shot taken in 2019.

R. keithi in Ranau, Sabah 

Note on stamps:

1. Sabah 1979 ISC409 1 cent multicolored - Rafflesia hasseltii
Multi POS in octagon wmk.
P. 14.5

2. Federal Territory 1979 ISCK1

3. Johor 1979 ISC194

4. Kedah 1979 ISC143

5. Kelantan 1979 ISC120

6. Melaka 1979 ISC87

7. Negeri Sembilan 1979 ISC104

8. Pahang 1979 ISC114

9. Perak 1979 ISC170

10. Perlis 1979 ISC61
11. Pulau Pinang 1979 ISC87

12. Selangor 1979 ISC164
13. Sarawak 1979 ISC244

14. Terengganu 1979 ISC126