Rafflesia Flower

Rafflesia keithii

Description:

Contrary to popular belief, this freshly bloomed Rafflesia keithii flower is not smelly or have foul smell like rotting meat or corpse! According to the owner of the property where this flowers can be found, this particular flower bloomed overnight when he checked on it early morning but it was not the morning before. We got news of it and decided to look it up since it was the last possible day for me to see it as I will be transferring out the next day. This particular flower was not smelly at all! According to the owner, the flower will last 4-5 days, possibly up to 7 days and it will only starts to be smelly from day 3 or 4 when it starts to fades/rots. In the vicinity of this flower, there were 10 other buds of various stages. We were told that it takes up to 9 months to bloom. Rafflesia keithii can be up to 1 meters in diameter, this particular flower was less than 1 meter, around 30 inches or 0.8 meters.

Habitat:

Tropical forest

Notes:

Rafflesia keithii is endemic to the east part of Borneo island, mostly in Sabah and possibly in East Kalimantan. In Sabah state of Malaysia, 3 species of Rafflesia can be found - R.keithii, R.pricei and R.tengku-adlinii (smallest of the 3 species to be found in Sabah). Pic#1 Freshly bloomed flower Pic#2 Bud due to bloom within 2-5 days Pic#3 Bud, estimated around 5 months old Pic#4 Close-up of Central Disk of Rafflesia Flower

Species ID Suggestions

12 Comments

AlbertKang 5 years ago

Thanks again, @DrNamgyal :)

DrNamgyalT.Sherpa 5 years ago

Congrats Albert for the SOTW! Yet another feather in the cap!

AlbertKang 5 years ago

Thanks, @Daniele for the SOTW :)

Thanks too, @Greg and @Antonio for your kind words and support :)

AntónioGinjaGinja 5 years ago

Great series Albert,i like this flower a lot and the conservation effort that is under this spotting have my admiration,so congrats Albert on another well deserved SOTW and thanks Albert&Chun for your contribution for the preservation of a such iconique species

Greg Shchepanek 5 years ago

Congratulations Albert, beautiful series & spotting.

DanielePralong 5 years ago

Congratulations Albert, your Rafflesia has been voted Spotting of the Week!
The interesting original information you provided, together with quality shots of this endemic plant at various stages of development, won you the vote!

"This spectacular Rafflesia (Rafflesia keithii) has been voted Spotting of the Week! Rafflesia is a genus of parasitic flowering plants found in Southeast Asia. Rafflesias are parasite of vines, and only their five-petalled flowers can be seen outside the host plants. Rafflesia keithii is endemic to Sabah in Borneo, and its flowers can grow up to 1m in diameter. This flower was photographed on forest land at risk of clearing for farming and where attempts are currently being made to encourage ecotourism as an alternative (information courtesy of Project Noah ranger Chun Xing Wong from local volunteer group 1StopBorneo Wildlife)".

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SarahWhitt 5 years ago

You ALWAYS have the MOST AWESOME spottings, Albert!!
This one is one of those!

Maria dB 5 years ago

Great spotting with the photos of the different stages of the bloom.

AshleyT 5 years ago

Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!