The Wilderness Of South Sumatra Is A Comfortable Home For Rafflesia Arnoldii

JAKARTA - Rafflesia Arnoldii, a rare puspa that was first discovered in Bengkulu in the 19th century AD, has apparently spread and thrived in the wilderness of South Sumatra (Sumsel).

Forest Ecosystem Controller of the South Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) Wahid Nurrudin in Lahat, Friday, November 5, said the flower, also known as the Giant Padma, was found scattered in lowland tropical rain forest bordering Lahat and Muara Enim regencies.

The first discovery of the big red true parasite flower was made by the South Sumatra BKSDA conservation team in August 2019, they found nine flowers in the Isau-isau Wildlife Sanctuary, Lahat Regency.

From these findings, the team conducted observations for one month to prove whether what was found was Rafflesia Arnodii.

After all the characteristics of the plant were confirmed to be the same as the research recap, in October 2021 the existence of the flower was officially announced.

"We make sure that what was found at that time was Rafflesia Arnoldii, a plant typical of the island of Sumatra," he said as quoted by Antara.

He said, the Isau-Isau Wildlife Sanctuary, which covers an area of 14 thousand hectares, is not the only place where Rafflesia Arnoldii is spread, but since the time it was discovered it has also grown sporadically in several other areas.

The conservation team found several more individuals in the forest area of Air Lingkar Village, Pagar Gunung District, Lahat Regency in 2019 and the forest of Pagar Agung Village, Semende Darat Laut District, Muara Enim in 2020.

From these two locations, 10-20 individuals of Rafflesia Arnoldii were found in the knob phase (flower buds) growing on one bed. The location is quite far from the village about 1.5 to 2 hours on foot, so it is likely that many more are growing there.

“Every single individual blooms and continues to wither later there will be another for a new individual at that location. So on, it will continue to grow. Currently there may be 10-20 individuals, it could be more than that,” he said.

The process of Rafflesia growing and blooming is different from flowers in general, because it will last up to one year in that phase.

Rafflesia is a parasitic plant that attaches to the stem of a vine called Liana from the Tetrastigma genus. This process takes about two to three months until the roots sink into the ground and grow.

"Rafflesia has no trunk, its roots will support the body until it closes and blooms," he said.

When entering the knob phase, the average size will reach 10 to 40 centimeters and 60 centimeters at a certain size, in about one – three months Rafflesia will bloom with sizes reaching 90 centimeters to 1 meter.

“So far, they (Rafflesia) will bloom alternately, the distance from one individual bloom to another is months apart. After blooming, it continues to wither and die, this phase lasts about a month," he explained.

Meanwhile, TPHL BKSDA Sumsel Ferianto said because of its long biological life, Rafflesia is included in the genus of rare plants, so it must be protected. Therefore, it requires the cooperation of all relevant parties, especially the community.

The practice of vandalism is still a problem whose solution is a challenge in itself. Because, on several occasions it was found that there were people who tried to take and move them from the forest to be owned.

In fact, socialization continues to be carried out, to convey that Rafflesia cannot be moved from the forest, because it will surely die.

“Everyone should know that this flower cannot be moved from the forest area. Because, it will surely die and be in vain if anyone intends to take it or move it to be planted again. So let them live wild in the forest," he said.