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Rafflesia Arnoldii – The Identity of Bengkulu Province |
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by Dyah Reza Lestari | 22-05-2018 18:11
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Indonesia is a country known for its great biodiversity. Biodiversity includes all of the animal and plant species, their genetic differences, and the ecosystems where they form interconnected communities. One of the endemic plants of Indonesia is Rafflesia arnoldii. Rafflesia arnoldii (called as Padma raksasa in Indonesian) is an obligate parasite plant that lives inside the vines of another plants belong to the Tetrastigma genus. Its body consists of filaments that spread through the vine, obtaining food from the host. Rafflesia arnoldii has a widening flower with five thick and fleshy red-coloured petals, covered with lighter colored bumps or warts. In the center of each flower is a deep pit which contains a disk of spines. Flower is the only part of the Rafflesia arnoldii that is visible to us. Rafflesia arnoldii has no roots, leaves, and stems. Rafflesia has no leaves so it can't afford to do its own photosynthesis and take nutrients from its host tree. When the flowers bloom, the diameter can reach 70 - 110 cm with a height of 50 cm and weigh up to 11 kg. That's why Rafflesia arnoldii is famous as the largest flower in the world. When in bloom, Rafflesia arnoldii emits a repulsive odor, similar to that of rotting meat. This odor attracts insects that pollinate the plant. This flower growth period can take up to 9 months and the bloom period of 5 - 7 days. After that, Rafflesia arnoldii will wither. This flower is one of the three national flowers in Indonesia (the other two are white jasmine and moon orchid). It was officially recognized as a national "rare flower" in Presidential Decree No. 4 in 1993. This flower was first discovered in the tropical forest of Bengkulu Province (Sumatra), somewhere near Manna River, Lubuk Tapi, South Bengkulu. The discovery of this giant flower was first known to have occurred in 1818 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, a British Governor-General at the time, with a naturalist Dr. Joseph Arnold. Hence, the naming of Rafflesia arnoldii based on the combined name of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles as the leader of the expedition and Dr. Joseph Arnold as the inventor of the foul-smelling giant flower. By this phenomenon, Bengkulu then became famous as The Land of Rafflesia. Rafflesia arnoldii is a rare, hard to find, and endemic plant. With the occurrence of forest fires, the high rate of deforestation, and the decline of the forest area in Sumatra are making a serious threat to the sustainability of this giant flower. Spesifically, it also because of the increased human activity has disturbed and reduced flower bud production at many locations. However, until now, Rafflesia arnoldii can be found in several locations, including Kerinci Seblat National Park (TNKS), Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (TNBBS), Seblat Training Center (PLG) in North Bengkulu Regency, and Padang Guci Kaur Regency. Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (TNBBS) itself has been designated as the center of conservation of this attractive flower. As it's known, the largest distribution of Rafflesia arnoldii exists in the Province of Bengkulu, recorded from Kaur Regency to Bukit Barisan, Seluma Regency, Central Bengkulu, Lebong to Bukit Gadis National Park. Luckily, I was born and grown up in Bengkulu Province. I could say that Bengkulu is my hometown. In 2016, my family and I got a chance to see Rafflesia arnoldii (again). This flower bloomed in protected forest areas in Taba Penanjung, Central Bengkulu. Probably it was our 3rd times seeing this magnificent flower as before that I had seen this flower when I was a child. As you can see in the pictures below that Rafflesia's petals were started to blacken and will soon wither, so that's means, perhaps, Rafflesia had been blooming for 4 days (if I'm not mistaken). I felt so lucky to have seen Rafflesia arnoldii directly and could take a picture with them. With a full of hopes that everyone, especially future generations, will get an opportunity too to see this astonishing creature. Sources : http://www.indonesia-tourism.com/bengkulu/raflesia.html https://www.wwf.or.id/program/spesies/rafflesia_arnoldii/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafflesia_arnoldii Images : All of these pictures were taken by my sister |
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Previous : World Biodiversity Day
16 Comments
Hello, Rosa! I think you've got the wrong name haha It's me Dyah :D
Btw, thanks a lot for all the generous words! It means a lot to me :)
Posted 30-05-2018 21:58
Hi Elizaveta!
what an interesting topic to tackle! I have personally only read about this endemic plant and today you have given me more insight and of the fact that it might be vulnerable for extinction!
It seems to me that major threats encountering all the vulnerable species are: forest fires, the high rate of deforestation, and the decline of the forest in the case of your region, and poaching, poisoning, accidental electrocution, decline in habitat and ignorance of such species in other regions.
All-in-all!
Lovely report!
Posted 30-05-2018 21:22
Hello, Elizaveta! Good to know that you've known this flower before. Anyway, thank you for reading my report and giving kind words! :)
Posted 28-05-2018 14:13
I've heard about this flower before! Thanks for the report!
Posted 27-05-2018 16:20
Hi, Joon Ho Mentor! Many thanks for a great comment. Alright, I've just read Jane's report and I think that we're very proud to introduce Rafflesia to our fellow ambassadors, mentors, and all of Tunza members :) I'm so happy to share my experience with all of you guys. Come to Indonesia and if you're lucky enough then you might see this beautiful flower in real life :)
Posted 26-05-2018 13:22
Hello, Jane! Glad to know you. Thank you for reading my report. I've just read your report about Rafflesia and that's really great. Our countries are two neighbouring nations that share similarities in so many aspects, including in flora and fauna. Good to know that Malaysia also has its own Rafflesia, that means the distribution of Rafflesia is quite wide throughout Southeast Asia. Hope you could also get a chance to see Rafflesia in real life :)
Posted 26-05-2018 13:11
Hi, Gyeongrin Mentor! Thanks for always giving positive feedbacks! Hopefully you could also get a chance to see this exquisite flower someday :)
Posted 26-05-2018 12:16
Thank you so much guys for taking the time to read my report! I appreciate all of your heartwarming comments :)
Posted 26-05-2018 12:08
Hello Dyah, I read the report about Rafflesia a couple of days ago from the report written by Jane! (You can see her comment right below this one)
It must have been so lucky and meaningful day for you to take a pic of real Rafflesia and have a look at it!!
Many teenagers just heard stories about it like a myth and unique Pokemon in Gameboy boards, but it is totally different to see them in real :)
I do really wish to see them in real, too but hope their survival and ensuring their number in nature can be provided first
Thanks for sharing your nice experience!!
Posted 26-05-2018 01:24
Hello Dyah. Nice to meet you. I am from Malaysia and have written about Rafflesia this month in accordance to the theme of biodiversity. However I have never seen a rafflesia before because its occurence is so uncommon and its blooming period is short and unpredictable. Thank you for sharing the photos.
Posted 25-05-2018 18:51
Hello Dyah
Rafflesia looks amazing in your pictures! I actually haven't seen one with my own eyes and I've never imagined it to be that big. Thanks for sharing the pictures and everything about this flower, I truly enjoyed it. And as the last paragraph points out, I also hope that we could save our environment so that the future generation could also have a chance to see these amazing living beings.
Thanks for the report :)
Posted 25-05-2018 12:08
That flower sure is really 'rare'. I have never seen anything like this in my life!
Posted 23-05-2018 21:29
thank you for sharing. nice rapport anyways
Posted 23-05-2018 17:33
The flower looks amazing. Thanks for the report.
Posted 23-05-2018 13:10
Very interesting post!
Posted 23-05-2018 11:05
Thanks for sharing.
Posted 22-05-2018 18:29