Rafflesia Species Research Articles

Taxonomy, ecology, and conservation status of Philippine Rafflesia (Rafflesiaceae)

The number of Rafflesia species (Rafflesiaceae) reported for the Philippines has grown explosively from two before 2002 to ten or eleven presently. We present an overview of the current knowledge of Philippine Rafflesia by providing a comprehensive account of all the recognized species with their taxonomy, distribution and ecology, plus a key and photographs to aid in identification. Their conservation status and that of the rain forest habitats they require is discussed.

Another New Species of Rafflesia (Rafflesiaceae) from Luzon, Philippines: R. Leonardi

A new species of Philippine Rafflesia is described. Rafflesia leonardi is the eighth species of Rafflesia described from the Philippines and the fourth species from Luzon Island. It most closely resembles R. lobata and R. manillana in perigone colour and wart ornamentations and in the wide aperture relative to diaphragm diameter. It is, however, different from both of these and other Philippine Rafflesia species in its flower size and disk that lacks or has rudimentary processes.

The Note on Morphology of Rafflesia hasseltii Surigar from Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park, Riau

The detail observation had been done on the morphological characters of Rafflesia hasseltii from Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park (BTNP). Currently, this endangered and rare flower found in two populations in this park, Aek Telap and Mandi Urau, Tanah Datar. The preliminary study on morphological characters of flowers from this site shows blotches and dot pattern variability. The detail observation of morphology of R. hasseltii from BTNP, presented the similarity to its type except the blotches pattern in perigone lobe. However, the further monitoring research is still needed to observe more flowers in this site. Due to its rarity, study on all Rafflesia species must be carefully done especially in using the characters of blotch for taxonomy evidence, as this characters show the variability among the flowers within population.© 2007 Jurusan Biologi FMIPA UNS SurakartaKey words: Rafflesia hasseltii, tjendawan muka rimau, morphology

Rafflesia banahaw (Rafflesiaceae), a new species from Luzon, Philippines

A new small-flowered species of Philippine Rafflesia from Mt Banahaw in Luzon is described. Rafflesia banahaw is the seventh endemic species of Rafflesia found in the Philippines. It resembles R. baletei, but is different in, amongst other characters, having more confluent wart ornamentations, more numerous and densely packed processes on the disk, and more numerous, slightly immersed anthers. In addition, R. banahaw has glabrous ramenta which are grouped in dense clusters on the inside of the diaphragm and are more or less solitary on the inside of the perigone tube, whereas the ramenta of R. baletei are pubescent and distributed more uniformly.

A New Species of Rafflesia (Rafflesiaceae) from Panay Island, Philippines

One new species of Rafflesia, R. speciosa, from Panay Island, Philippines is described. A discussion of its similarities with two other species, R. patma Blume from Borneo and Sumatra, and R. kerrii Meijer from S Thailandand Malay Peninsula, is provided. The conservation status of the two other Philippine species, R. manillana Teschem. and R. schadenbergiana Gopp. is also discussed.

The Science of Big, Weird Flowers: Some of the best things in botany come in large packages

R ight up there with the world's largest collection of airsickness bags (Niek Vermeulen's 2,112 specimens in the Netherlands) and the world's most decorated woman (Canadian strip artiste Krystvne Kolorful, with 95 percent of her skin tatooed), the 1998 Guinness Book of World Records awards the honor of the world's largest bloom to Rafflesia amoldii of Southeast Asia. A single one of the meat-red flowers can stretch 3 feet across and weigh 36 pounds, according to the arbiter of superlatives. In 1818, the plant flabbergasted the Western explorers who first found it, and today it can still knock the syntax out of the lucky few who see it in bloom. This Rafflesia and a few other floral giants offer an oldfashioned thrill to a world jaded by the miracles of modern botany. Perfect emerald golf courses now grow in deserts, and markets carry strawberries year-round, but only one botanic garden has ever managed to coax any of the 13 or so Rafflesia species into bloom. Even the handful of world experts on Rafflesia are still debating basic questions, such as whether blooms can pollinate themselves. The fascination that big flowers hold was demonstrated this summer, when 76,000 people converged on Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Calif., to admire the 11th Amorphophallus titanum, or corpse flower, ever to bloom in the United States. A tropical relative of jackin-the-pulpit, the foul-smelling bloom cluster rose to 5 feet, 9 1/2 inches in height before wilting. These giants are attracting scientific attention as well. The number of Amorphophallus plants in captivity is growing, allowing researchers to study pollination and seed production. Scientists at the Sabah Parks, headquartered in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, are systematically exploring the elusive Rafflesia's natural his-