Arnold's Rafflesia (lat. Rafflesia Arnoldii). What is the largest flower on Earth? What does rafflesia eat?

Rafflesia Arnoldi - the world's largest miracle flower

Rafflesia (Rafflesia; Indonesian bunga patma - lotus flower), corpse lily, genus of plants of the Rafflesiaceae family. Found on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan. There are 12 types of rafflesia. Among them, the most famous are Rafflesia Arnoldi and Rafflesia tuan muda, which have the largest flowers in the plant kingdom (diameter from 60 cm to 1 m with a weight of up to 11 kg). And even the smallest flowers of Rafflesia sapria and risantes are very impressive - 15-20 cm in diameter. They got their name in honor of T.S. Raffles and naturalist D. Arnoldi, who found and described this “greatest miracle” of the plant world in the southwestern part of Sumatra.

The rafflesia flower is colorful. It consists of five fleshy, thick pancake-shaped petals of a poisonous red color with white wart-like growths, vaguely reminiscent of a giant fly agaric.

The brick-red flower blooms directly on the ground for a very short time - only 3 - 4 days; has the smell and appearance of rotting meat, which attracts pollinators - dung flies. First, the insects land on a flower disk covered with spines. Floundering, the flies fall even lower - into the annular furrow, where thin hairs guide them to the stamens, which spill sticky pollen onto the backs of the insects. Weighed down by their burdens, the flies climb out and fly to the female rafflesia flowers, delivering pollen to their pistils and fertilizing the ovules. Over the course of 7 months, a fruit containing from 2 to 4 million seeds develops from the ovary.

Rafflesia was first discovered on the island of Sumatra. Officer Stamford Raffles and botanist Joseph Arnold compiled the first scientific description of the plant and measured it. The flower was about a meter across, and the weight of the entire plant was more than 6 kilograms. The discoverers gave it a rather sonorous name - Rafflesia Arnoldi.

The Rafflesia flower is the largest in the world. Specimens reaching 70-90 centimeters in diameter are considered medium. There is a known record flower, the diameter of which was 106.7 centimeters. The rafflesia flower has five thick, fleshy petals covered with pale, warty spots. The petal has an average thickness of three and a length of 46 centimeters. After a short period of flowering, rafflesia decomposes within a few weeks, turning into a disgusting, shapeless black mass.

If the female flower is lucky and pollen falls on it, then over the course of seven months, a fruit filled with thousands of seeds develops from the ovary. Interestingly, for the propagation of rafflesia, the help of some large animal is required, which will crush the fruit and transfer the seeds to another place. There, the offspring of Rafflesia will again repeat the entire circle of its development. However, out of many seeds, only one or two will germinate.

Parasitic mainly on tropical vines. The growing season is long, and flowering itself takes several days.

Particularly popular among botanists giant rafflesia. There are cases when its diameter reached 106 cm, and the flower weighed approximately 12 kg. If you look carefully from afar, it will seem that a huge lily has bloomed on a bare trunk.

Description and features of rafflesia

Grows on the island of Sumatra, Java and Kalimantan, the Malacca Peninsula and the Philippines. The plant was first discovered during the expedition of Dr. J. Arnold by his guide. The flower was named after Sir Thomas Raffles, who led the event.

Rafflesia does not have its own stems or leaves. It develops entirely at the expense of the main host plant. Inside, it looks like cellular cords, somewhat reminiscent of mushroom hyphae. are most often formed on the roots of vines, rarely on the stems.

Rafflesia flower consists of five huge petals, with a column in the center. It has a larger diameter at the top than at the base. At the very bottom of the column there is a disk completely covered with spines.

The perianth constantly grows and hangs over the disc, forming a brown diaphragm. Rafflesia from the genus Sapria has a slightly lighter colored diaphragm.

Slightly below the central disk, at a distance from each other, are the anthers. They are located in recesses. The anther opens through pores at the top and consists of several miniature nests. Ripe pollen is collected in lumps and forms grains. All this is connected to each other by a mucous substance.

The lower ovary is a false multi-nested depression. Visually, it resembles tubercles or numerous accretion. As a result, parietal placentas are formed, but before this, plates are laid.

The flowers of most species are bisexual. Ripe fruits resemble, inside of which there is a viscous mass called pulp. It is in the pulp that the ripened seeds are located. The seed embryo contains an oily endosperm.

Local residents often compare them to “corpse lilies”, as they resemble in color a piece of rotting meat. The aroma that rafflesia emits is especially disgusting.

This is the smell of smoldering flesh, thereby attracting forest flies. The insect falls onto the disk, then falls to the anthers through the annular grooves, leaks toxic mucus and decomposes.

Interestingly, after the insect gets inside the flower, the diaphragm narrows slightly until the victim is saturated with poison. A little later it opens again.

Planting and propagation of rafflesia

During flowering, the fruit ripens, containing from 2 to 4 million seeds. Such a large number of seeds means that only a small percentage of them will germinate. Everything will depend on external factors.

First, the hard fruit must be crushed to release the seed. Secondly, only large animals (elephants, wild pigs) can do this. Thirdly, the seeds easily stick to the paws of mammals and insects. This is how the plant spreads.

The area on the root swells and releases the bud. Then, over the course of 9 months, the bud matures, and eventually a bright brick flower blooms. The pancake-shaped petals are covered with white spots, randomly located.

Flowering lasts only 4-5 days. All that remains of beauty is a shapeless, rotten mass. If we consider photorafflesia flower or up close, it looks more like a bright trap than an exotic miracle.

Rafflesia care

Rafflesia insectivore, this feature is due to the fact that pollination occurs during a short flowering period. Due to the smell of rotten meat, dung flies flock to the plant. It is not advisable for a person to get close to the flower; there is information that the aroma is toxic and has some soporific properties.

Caring for rafflesia involves maintaining the health of the host plant. It is important that the vine has good branching and fertilizing with mineral fertilizers. The environment should be humid and warm.

Types and varieties of rafflesia

The most famous type is Rafflesia 'Arnold', blooms with a single flower, has large sizes. It is painted in a reddish-brown tint. Endangered. Habitat: Indonesia, Sumatra and Malaysia.

Rafflesia "Patma" is a plant species native to the island of Java, named after the place of germination and translated as "lotus flower". Description of Rafflesia– reaches 30 cm in diameter, the ripe bud has a pinkish color, with dark brown protective petals. The color can be bright red or brown, with white chaotic spots on the surface of the petals.

Interesting facts about rafflesia. The plant is national in the Indonesian province of Surat Thani. Local residents of Sumatra use it for medicinal purposes. For women, during the postpartum period, an extract from the buds was made to restore their figure. For men, tinctures from the petals were prepared to enhance potency.

In our time, in the botanical garden of the city of Bogor, there were attempts to grow rafflesia, which led to success. The only drawback is that the process is very long and it is not clear what the result will be. Moreover, the seeds are no larger in size than a poppy seed, it is difficult to understand whether it will germinate or not. In Japan, the plant is associated with the female vagina.

At its core, rafflesia is unique; it is still being studied to this day. It is considered a higher plant, feeds on organic substances, and is classified as a “heterotroph”. A must do when visiting Indonesian places photo of rafflesia. Not everyone is lucky enough to see such a unique miracle.

Let's continue our acquaintance with the plants of the Earth. One of the most unusual plants grows on the islands of Indonesia - Rafflesia.

Rafflesia Arnolda is best known for its large flowers. This flower received its name from two scientists - naturalists Thomas Raffles and Joseph Arnold, who put a lot of effort into researching and studying the island of Sumatra. D. Arnold was the first to find and describe this greatest miracle of the plant world.

The rafflesia flower is unusual and very original, bright red with white growths, which makes it look like rotting meat. It blooms for only three to four days and emits the “aroma” of rotting meat throughout the area. The petals of the flower are very thick, almost three centimeters, and the diameter of the flower can reach from half a meter to one meter.

Both the appearance and smell of rafflesia attract a large number of insects. For this reason, rafflesia was nicknamed the corpse lily.

After flowering, rafflesia decomposes and turns into a shapeless black mass. This black mass contains tiny rafflesia seeds, invisible to the naked eye. One fruit contains from two to four million seeds.

This viscous mass sticks to the feet of elephants, wild boars and other large animals, and is also spread by small animals, insects, such as ants. Spreading in this way, rafflesia seeds fall on the roots of a new donor plant in a new place and the development of a new rafflesia flower begins again.

Rafflesia seeds are so small that it is still a mystery how they penetrate the hard wood of the host plant.

Indonesians have traditionally used rafflesia for medicinal purposes. Rafflesia flower extract was used to restore a woman’s figure after childbirth, and the flowers themselves were used to enhance male sexual function.

According to unofficial sources, Rafflesia was first discovered in 1797 on the island of Java by the French explorer Louis Auguste Deschamps. However, in 1798, when his ship was captured by the British, all notes and illustrations fell into the hands of the invaders and were not available to Western science until 1954.

The official date of discovery of this representative of the world of flora is 1818. Then it was found in the tropical forests of Indonesia in the southwest of the island of Sumatra during an expedition led by the British explorer, Sir Stamford Raffles, in whose honor the flower got its name. The first to see the unusual plant was a local guide, assistant to doctor and naturalist Joseph Arnold. The specimen found was a huge flower without leaves or stem, reaching a meter in diameter and weighing more than 6 kg. Later this species was named Rafflesia Arnolda. Today it is the most famous representative of the genus and is one of the three largest flowers on the planet.

Rafflesia Arnolda is a giant single-flowered plant that can be 60-100 cm in diameter and weigh more than 8-10 kg. The record holder of this species reached a very impressive size - 106.7 cm. And even the smallest variety, Rafflesia baletei, has an average diameter of 12 cm.

The only visible part of the plant is five fleshy, pancake-shaped petals of deep red color, covered with chaotically distributed white spots. A giant bud blooms right on the ground, emitting the smell of spoiled meat, which is how it got another name - “corpse flower.” The unpleasant smell and appearance attract pollinating insects, which are most often forest flies that transport pollen from a male to a female flower. Most species of rafflesia are bisexual, but some of them are polygamous plants that can be either bisexual or unisexual.

In the case of fertilization of the female flower and the appearance of the ovary, after 7 months the fruit ripens, containing on average from 2 to 4 million seeds. Next, the fate of rafflesia is decided with the participation of large animals (elephants, wild pigs), which crush the hard fruit and transfer the seeds stuck to the limbs to other places.

Today, all species of this plant are under threat of extinction, the reason for this is the massive deforestation of tropical forests for plantations, which is rapidly reducing the habitat of exotic representatives of the flora world.

In Indonesia, Surat Thani Province, Thailand, and Sabah, Malaysia, Rafflesia is officially designated as the national flower.

Finding plants in the jungle that have the world's largest flower is not easy: they grow singly, bloom at different times of the year and bloom for no more than four days. But those who are lucky enough to see Arnold's rafflesia in all its glory are rarely disappointed: the bright red spot among the dark green jungle looks too strange, unusual and unusual.

People who find this flower are unlikely to be able to enjoy the aroma of this amazing plant, since the opened bud has a very unpleasant odor. In turn, forest flies really like this aroma; they flock to it like bees to honey and, getting stuck in the inflorescence, contribute to the pollination of the flower.

These amazing plants are remarkable primarily because the flowers of some species, for example, Arnold's rafflesia, weigh from eight to ten kilograms and have a record size in diameter - about a meter, being the widest flower on earth. True, not all types of this flower have similar sizes. There is another type of plant, the flowers of which are also classified as large - Patma with an inflorescence diameter of 30 cm. But the sizes of such representatives of the Rafflesiaceae family as Sapria and Rhizantes range from 10 to 20 cm.

The family itself was named after Thomas Stamford Raffles, the leader of the expedition to the island of Sumatra, who also became famous for founding Singapore. But the first plant found was Arnold's rafflesia - it got its name thanks to Joseph Arnold, who participated in the same expedition.

Interestingly, local residents called this plant “lotus flower”, “corpse lily”, “carrion flower”, “dead lotus” and used it as medicine: women drank an extract made from the buds to restore their figure after childbirth, and men used rafflesia flowers to enhance potency.

The plant discovered by Joseph Arnold was small for its species, but even then it was impressive: its diameter was about ninety centimeters, and it weighed no more than six kilograms. Subsequently, botanists found larger specimens. The maximum diameter of the flower that was recorded by scientists was 106.7 cm - and at the moment it is the widest flower discovered on our planet.

Biological characteristics of the plant

The largest flower in the world prefers to grow on a vine of the cissus genus or on trees, part of the root system of which has protruded to the surface. Once on these plants, rafflesia seeds release thin threads and penetrate under the bark of the “host” without harming it in any way.

Life of rafflesia

After rafflesia seeds are introduced into the vine with the help of sucker roots, they do not manifest themselves in any way for a year and a half (seeds that were unable to penetrate the tree bark die over time).

After eighteen months, a bud-like thickening begins to form on the roots or stem of the “host”. When the growth reaches the size of a child's fist, it opens and a bud with brick-red petals appears. Usually, Rafflesia Arnoldi spends at least three years on this process.

It takes nine to eighteen months for a bud to mature and transform into a flower. A blooming rafflesia Arnold flower has five petals about 3 cm thick and 45 cm long.

These petals are usually red or brown and covered with a huge number of white warty growths and spots. Despite the long ripening, the flower itself lives no more than four days, after which it begins to decompose, and Arnold's rafflesia soon transforms into a black, shapeless mass.

Once in bloom, rafflesia emits the smell of rotten meat, attracting flies, which it uses for pollination. Insects, finding themselves on a flower disk covered with small flexible spines, become entangled in them.

Trying to get out, they fall lower and find themselves in a ring furrow, and from there the finest hairs guide them to the stamens. They, in turn, pour sticky pollen onto the fly, after which the insects, trying to take off, end up in the flowers, thereby fertilizing the ovules (these plants are mostly bisexual).

The fruits of Rafflesia Arnold are berry-shaped and consist of a viscous mass, pulp, in the middle of which there are from 2 to 4 million small seeds. It takes the fruit about seven months to ripen, and ripe seeds are searched for a suitable “host” in a rather interesting way: after some animal steps on and crushes the ripe fruit, seeds instantly stick to its limbs, which thereby begin the “search” for a suitable plants. However, not everyone is lucky.