Rafflesia: Where are they found?

Ten Things I Like About... Podcast

Summary: Where are rafflesia found? Join Kiersten as she visits Southeast Asia (not literally) to find out.

For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean

“Most of the world’s largest flowers (genus Rafflesia) are now on the brink of extinction,” by Pastor Malabrigo Jr, Adriane B. Tobias, Joko Witono, Sofi Mursidawati, Agus Susatya, Mat Eunuch Siti-Munirah, Adhityo Wicaksono, Reza Raihandhany, Sarah Edwards, and Chris J. Thorogood. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10431

Music written and performed by Katherine Camp

Transcript

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Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.

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Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I’m Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.

This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.

The second thing I like about rafflesia is where it is found. This genus of plant has a very small distribution. Let’s talk about where you can find these amazing flowers.

You probably remember from last week’s introductory episode that rafflesia our found in southeast Asia. None have been found outside this region at the recording of this podcast in 2024, although researchers believe that there are more within this region that have yet to be seen and described by science. The majority of rafflesia are found in the Philippines, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, and Peninsular Malaysia. For your reference, Peninsular Malaysia refers to the western portion of Malaysia, or the island portion, and consists of 11 states and two federal territories.

Let’s take a look and where specific species of rafflesia are found. Before I get started, please excuse any mispronunciation of country names. I mean no offense.

Rafflesia arnoldii, the largest species of rafflesia with a spread of three feet in diameter, is found in Malaysia in Borneo and Sarawak. This rafflesia has two varieties, the second variety is Rafflesia arnoldii atjehensis which is found in Indonesia on West Kalimantan and Sumatra. Rafflesia aurantia is fund in the Philippines in Luzon and the Quirino Province. Rafflesia azlanii is found on Peninsular Malaysia in Perak and Pahang. Rafflesia baletei is fund in the Phillipones on Southern Luzon and the Camarines Sur Province. Rafflesia bengkuluensis is found in Indonesia in Souther Sumatra. Rafflesia cantleyi is found in Peninsular Malaysia and on Tioman Island. Rafflesia consueloae, the smallest rafflesia at only 9.7cm in width, is found in the Philippines in Luzon, Nueva Ecija Province.

Rafflesia gadutensis is found in Indonesia on the Western coast of Sumatra and Benkulu. Rafflesia hasseltii is found in Indonesia’s central Sumatra. Rafflesia keithii can be found in Malaysia’s Borneo and Sabah and Indonesia’s East Kalimantan. Rafflesia kerrii is found in Peninsular Thailand as well as Peninsular Malaysia. Rafflesia lagascae is found in Luzon in the Philippines. Rafflesia lawangensis can be found in North Sumatra and the Gunung Leuser National Park of Indonesia. Rafflesia leonardii is found in Luzon, Phillipines. Rafflesia lobata can be seen in Panay, Philippines. Rafflesia manillana lives in Samar Philippines. Rafflesia meijeri blooms in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Rafflesia micropylora is also found in North Sumatra, Indonesia.

Rafflesia mira and Rafflesia mixta are both found in Mindanao, Philippines. Rafflesia patna is found in Java, Indonesia. Rafflesia philippensis is, you guessed it, found in the Philippines, Luzon Island, Quezon Province, Mt. Banahaw. This flower also goes by R. Banahaw or R. banahawensis in an homage to where it grows. Rafflesia pricei is found in Borneo, Sabah, possibly N. Sarawak, Brunei, and Kalimantan. Rafflesia rochussenii lives in Western Java and Sumatra, Indonesia.

Rafflesia schadenbergiana and Rafflesia speciosa are both found in the Philippines in Mindanao and Panay respectively. Rafflesia tengku-adlinii is found in Borneo and Sabah Malaysia. Rafflesia tuan-mudae is also found in Malaysia but in West Sarawak. Rafflesia verrucosa resides in Mindanao, Philippines. Rafflesia zollingeriana is found in eastern Java, Indonesia. The remaining species of rafflesia that we currently know of have incomplete taxonomic identification, so we are not sure if they are all seperate species from the one described above, but they are all found in Indonesia or Peninsular Malaysia.

Thanks for hanging in there listeners, I didn’t list these all out just so I could say rafflesia a lot, although I have to admit it is fun to say, I want to highlight how many places each specie is found. If you didn’t tune it out, you may have noticed that most species are only found in one place. Only five species are found on more than one island. Since most of these flowers are found on islands, the theory of island biogeography applies. This theory, in a nutshell, says that larger islands should host a larger amount of species than smaller islands because larger islands are, well, larger. This holds true for the majority of islands that host rafflesia, but when dealing with nature, there is always an exception to the rule.

This is true of rafflesia. The island of Luzon is seven times smaller than Borneo yet both of them host the same amount of rafflesia. Scientists are not sure why yet, but research into this is ongoing. When discussing distribution of this plant, we do have to keep in mind that scientists are still discovering new species or discovering known species in new locations, so our knowledge is continually evolving.

Most rafflesias are found in a rainforest habitat on the island where they bloom and that is due to the nature of the host plant upon which they rely. The vines in the genus Tetrastigma seem to be the only vines that host these amazing flowers and they are mostly found in rainforests. Now that we know what rafflesia is and where to find it, next week we will delve into its unusual life cycle.

Thank you for listening to episode two of rafflesia. The locations where this incredible flower is found is my second favorite thing about them.

If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change.

So join me next week for another episode about Rafflesia.

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This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.