New Rafflesia Flower Habitat Found In Mt Bukit Kaba Forest, Bengkulu

Bengkulu, April 2 (Antara)- The Bengkulu-Lampung natural resources conservation office (BKSDA) has discovered a new habitat of Rafflesia sp flower in Mount Bukit Kaba forest in Rejanglebong District, Bengkulu Province. "Our team has found a new habitat of Rafflesia sp in the forest around Bukit Kaba, which is an active volcano," Abu Bakar Cekmat, head of the Bengklu-Lampung KBSDA, said here, Monday. Two Rafflesia sp flowers are nearly in full bloom in the new habitat. The local BKSDA officers are not sure whether the flowers are of Rafflesia arnoldii or Rafflesia bengkuluensis species. "They look like Rafflesia bengkuluensis, but it will be known for sure when they are in full bloom," he said. The 1,900-m Mt Bukit Kaba is famous among mountain climbers. Bengkulu City, dubbed "The Land of Rafflesia," has four species of Rafflesia, namely Rafflesia arnoldii, which is the province's icon, Rafflesia hasselti, Rafflesia gadutensis and Rafflesia bengkuluensis. Being discovered for the first time by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles and British botanist Josepth Arnold in Bengkulu, in 1818, Rafflesia is a parasitic flowering plant with no visible leaves, roots, or stem. It is an endoparasite of vines spreading its roots inside the tissue of the vine to obtain water and nutrients. It is totally dependant upon a vine called Tetrastigma, which is related to the grapevine. The only part of the plant that can be seen outside the host vine is the five-petaled flower. When in bloom, the Rafflesia emits a foul odour, similar to that of rotting meat which gives this flower its local names which mean corpse flower or meat flower. This odor attracts insects such as flies and carrion beetles, which transport pollen from male to female flowers.