One of the world’s freakiest floral phenomena starts from a seed the size of sawdust beneath the bark of a woody vine. After months or years (no one really knows), a parasitic bud may emerge, a golf ball–sized knob that’s hardly distinguishable from its host, the Tetrastigma vine. If the bud makes it to the next stage, it’ll upsize into a cabbage-shaped bulge. The grand finale is the monstrous bloom Rafflesia, a blood-red flower sporting polka dots and emanating a stench of rotting flesh.

The specter of the flower is disturbing—and soon, its fate might be too. The roughly 30 known stinky species in the Rafflesia genus, found only in Southeast Asian rainforests, are threatened by habitat destruction and illegal harvest