Rafflesia Arnoldi

The vast archipelago and the great numberof islands has made Indonesia the home of  a large variety of plant life. The Indonesian flora ranges from the tiny orchid to the giant rafflesia plant. No wonder many botanists are curious to study these plants.

The rafflesia arnoldi is the biggest flower in the world. It is unusual because of its large size. It has a flower almost a metre in diameter and 1.40 meters in height.

“Rafflesia” is derived from the name of  the British Governor General, Sir Thomas Stanford Rafles, who once governed and built  the Botanical Gardensin Bogor. Though it is called Rafflesia after Raffles, the man who discovered the plant was Beccary, an Italian botanist who visited Sumatera in 1928.

Rafflesia consists of two part: the stick-like part which grows in the middle and the petals around and below it.

The rafflesia plant begin to flower in its tenth year. It blooms three or four times a year. Before it begins to flower, the leaves and the stem become dry and look dead, but the main root in the ground is still alive.

While the flower is blossoming, it has very unpleasant smell which attract insect, especially green flies. They seem eager to explore the flower. But if the flies touch the bottom part of stick, like centre, they die.