Wildlife - Borneo - page 604

RAFFLESIA: POWER FLOWER
One of the wonders of the botanical world, the Rafflesia flower is astonishing not only because of its world-record
size - up to 1m in diameter - but also because of its extraordinary and mysterious lifestyle.
Rafflesias are parasites that lack roots, stems or leaves. In fact, they consist of just two parts: tiny filaments that
burrow into the host vine - a member of the grape family called Tetrastigma - to extract nutrients, and the flower
itself, which often erupts directly from the forest floor, bursting forth from a cabbage-sized bud that takes nine to
12 months to mature. Few buds survive that long as many are munched by small mammals, including civets and
moon rats.
Scientists have yet to figure out the Rafflesia's sex life. The red flowers, whose five fleshy petals are covered
with bumps and blotches, are either male or female - their reproductive organs are hidden under the spiky disk in
the middle - but it's not clear how they manage to effect pollination given that two flowers rarely bloom any-
where near each other at the same time. The transfer of pollen is carried out by carrion flies, attracted by the
flowers' revolting odour, which is said to resemble that of rotten meat. After the fruit ripens, about half a year
after flowering, the seeds are distributed by small rodents such as tree shrews and squirrels, but precisely how the
plants manage to attach themselves to their host vines, and why they grow only on Tetrastigmas, remains a mys-
tery.
There are approximately 17 species of Rafflesia (estimates vary). Some are thought to be extinct and all - in-
cluding the three species that live in Sarawak - are threatened to some degree, mainly by loss of habitat but also
by bud poaching for medicinal use.
Featured over the years on Malaysian stamps and coins and ubiquitous on tourist brochures, the Rafflesia is
named after Sir Stamford Raffles who, while heading an expedition to the Sumatran rainforest, 'discovered' the
flower in 1818, the year before he founded Singapore.
The good news is that Borneo is one of the best places in the world to see Rafflesias. The bad news is that they
bloom for just three to five days before turning into a ring of black slime. So it takes a fair bit of luck to see one.
Rafflesias blossom pretty much all year round, but irregularly - for the low-down on when and where, ask at your
guesthouse or hotel, or contact one of the following:
» In Sarawak, the park headquarters of Gunung Gading National Park ( Click here )
or Kuching's National Park Booking Office ( Click here ) .
» In Sabah, Tambunan Rafflesia Reserve ( Click here ). You can also look for signs
around Poring Hot Springs.
Proboscis Monkey
Borneo's most peculiar primate, named for the male's pendulous nose, lives mainly in
coastal areas, including mangrove forests. It is strictly herbivorous, which is why both
sexes need prodigious quantities of cellulose-digesting bacteria - stored in their distinctive
pot bellies - to turn their food into useable energy.