Rafflesia Flower

Rafflesia (with indonesis - "lotus flower") is a genus of flowering parasitic plants, which includes about 28 varieties. Its range covers the territory of Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, the peninsula of Malacca, the islands of Kalimantan, Java and Sumatra.

According to unofficial sources, for the first time, Rafflesia was discovered in 1797 on the island of Java by the French explorer Louis Auguste Deschamps. However, in 1798, when his ship was captured by the British, all records and illustrations fell into the hands of the invaders and were not available to Western science until 1954.

The official date for the opening of this representative of the world of the flora is in 1818. Then it was found in the tropical forests of Indonesia in the southwest of the island of Sumatra during an expedition led by a British explorer, Sir Stamford Raffles, in whose honor the flower got its name. The first unusual plant saw a local guide, assistant doctor and naturalist Joseph Arnold. The specimen was a huge flower without leaves and stems, reaching a meter in diameter and weighing more than 6 kg. Later this species was called Rafflesia Arnold. To date, he is the most famous representative of the genus and is one of the three largest flowers on the planet.

Rafflesia Arnold is a giant plant blooming with single flowers, which can have 60-100 cm in diameter and weigh more than 8-10 kg. The record holder of this species reached a very impressive size - 106.7 cm. And even the smallest species, Rafflesia baletei, has an average diameter of 12 cm.

A unique plant does not have a stem and leaves; The main organs that perform photosynthesis. Since independently Rafflesia is not capable of synthesizing vital organic substances, it develops due to parasitization on the tissues (stems and roots) of host plants, which are usually lianas belonging to the Vinogradov family.

The only visible part of the plant is five fleshy pancake-shaped petals of rich red color, covered with chaotically located white spots. A giant bud blossoms right on the ground, while producing the smell of spoiled meat, which gives it another name - "cadaverous flower". An unpleasant smell and appearance attracts pollinating insects, which are most often forest flies, transporting pollen from the male to the female flower. Most species of rafflesia are bisexual, but some of them belong to polygamous plants, which can be either bisexual or same-sex.

In the case of fertilization of the female flower and the appearance of the ovary, after 7 months the fruit ripens, with an average of 2 to 4 million seeds. Further, the fate of the rafflesia is solved with the participation of large animals (elephants, wild pigs), which crush a hard fruit and transfer the seeds adhering to the limbs to other places.

Today, all species of this plant are under threat of extinction, the reason for this is the massive deforestation of the tropical forests under the plantations, which rapidly decreases the places of growth of exotic representatives of the world of flora.

In Indonesia, the province of Suratthani, Thailand, and the state of Sabah, Malaysia, Rafflesia has been officially awarded the title of national flower.

Amazing flower !!! Thanks a lot to the site http://udivitelno.com/ for kindly provided photos!  

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