PEMBIMBING : PAK PANDIT

DIBUAT OLEH :

CHRISTIN DAHLIA
VIIIB

SMPN 1 KARE
TAHUN 2015

Rafflesia Life History

"

a penetrating smell more repulsive

than any buffalo carcass in an advanced stage of decomposition"

(Mjoberg,

1928)

There

are

approximately

17 Rafflesia species

distributed throughout Southeast Asia (Nais, 2000; Meijer, 1997; Mat

Salleh, 1991). These species are highly specific as to the hosts that
they parasitize, preferring only a few species ofTetrastigma (a
member of the common grape family) that are distributed in the
same geographic area. Although technically a member of the plant
kingdom, Rafflesiachallenges traditional definitions of what a plant is
because they lack chlorophyll and are therefore incapable of
photosynthesis (as are all members of its family, Rafflesiaceae).

While many parasites appear like normal

plants, Rafflesia lacks any observable leaves, roots, or even stems
(Meijer, 1993). Likened to fungi, Rafflesia individuals grow as threadlike strands of tissue completely embedded within and in intimate
contact with surrounding host cells from which nutrients and water
are

obtained

(Mat

Salleh,

1996).

Perhaps

the

only

part

ofRafflesia that is identifiable as distinctly plant-like are the flowers;

however, even these are bizarre because they attain massive

proportions (up to 3 ft in diameter) and are usually reddish-brown

and stink of rotting flesh.. Although parasitic,Rafflesia species do not
typically kill their hosts in spite of the drain on resources that they
cause.

Pollination

in Rafflesia has

been

studied

(Beaman et al., 1988) but is likely a rare event due to the several
factors. The flowers are unisexual and single sites usually produce
either male or female flowers (see exception below). Therefore, in
order to have effective pollination (reproduction), male flowers must
be in close proximity to, and open at the same time as female
flowers so that flies (or any other insect) can transfer pollen.

While male and female individuals could

be closely spaced, flower bud mortality is 80-90 % per site thereby
reducing the chance of co-flowering of two individuals (Nais, 2000).
Furthermore, flower lifespan is only 5-7 days thereby placing a
temporal bottleneck on the process of pollination (Beaman et al.,
1988; Nais, 2000). To complicate matters further, current population
distributions are fragmented due to habitat destruction. Thus,
successful sexual reproduction relies on the unlikely event that a
male and a female would bloom during the same 5-7 days and that a
fly

could

carry

populations.

pollen

between

the

often

widely

separated

Unlike

other

parasites

that

are

important to study due to the economic loss they cause to important

crops, Rafflesia causes

economic

benefit

through

ecotourism:

thousands of people go to Sabah (Malaysian, Borneo) annually

hoping to see Rafflesiablooms (Nais & Wilcock, 1998).

For this reason, there is great interest in

conserving Rafflesia sites

rather

than

eradicating

existing

populations (as is the case for noxious parasitic plant weeds).

Although preserving as much of its habitat as possible would be the
simplest and most obvious way to conserve Rafflesia, this is not

currently practical throughout its range.

Therefore, there is a need to investigate key questions that will
establish priorities for ex situ (not natural habitat) propagation
(which is only recently possible for the first time in history [Nais &
Wilcock, 1999]), management of currently protected sites and
procurement of unprotected sites, and in situ (within natural habitat)
breeding programs.