Giant rafflesia

Giant rafflesia
	Giant rafflesia flower ( Rafflesia arnoldii )
Systematics
	Rosids
	Eurosiden I
Order :	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)
Family :	Rafflesiaceae (Rafflesiaceae)
Genre :	Rafflesia ( Rafflesia )
Type :	Giant rafflesia
Scientific name
	Rafflesia arnoldii
	R.Br.

The Rafflesia ( Rafflesia arnoldii ) is a plant from the genus of rafflesia ( Rafflesia ) in the family of rafflesiaceae (Rafflesiaceae). The flowers of the giant rafflesia measure up to one meter in diameter, weigh up to eleven kilograms and are considered to be the largest flowers in the plant kingdom, even if other rafflesia species produce flowers of similar size (e.g. Rafflesia kerrii ).

ecology

Blossom in the habitat

Rafflesia arnoldii is a parasite on lianas of the genus Tetrastigma , which lives as an endophyte completely within its host . There the plants consist only of a mycelium-like network interspersed with haustoria . Roots , shoots and leaves are not developed.

Rafflesia arnoldii is dioeciously segregated ( diocesan ). Outside of the host plant, only the flower lying on the ground can be seen. As with all Rafflesia species, it imitates carrion in color and smell and thus attracts insects , mainly blowflies , to pollinate .

Systematics and distribution

The first description of Rafflesia arnoldii was made in 1821 by Robert Brown in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London . The specific epithet arnoldii honors Joseph Arnold , who discovered Rafflesia arnoldii together with Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles .

Of Rafflesia arnoldii are two varieties:

Rafflesia arnoldii R.Br. var. arnoldii is native to Borneo in the Malaysian state of Sarawak , Sabah and in the Indonesian province of Kalimantan Barat .
Rafflesia arnoldii var. Atjehensis ( coord. ) Meijer ( syn .: Rafflesia atjehensis coord. ): It is endemic to the province of Bengkulu on the Indonesian island of Sumatra .

literature

Jamili Nais: Rafflesia of the World. Sabah Parks, Kota Kinabalu 2001, ISBN 983-812-042-1 .

Web links

Commons : Giant Rafflesia ( Rafflesia arnoldii ) - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Rafflesia arnoldi R.Br. Plants of the World Online, Key Royal Botanic Gardens , accessed May 9, 2020.
↑ Lachezar A. Nikolov et al .: Holoparasitic Rafflesiaceae possess the most reduced endophytes and yet give rise to the world's largest flowers. In: Annals of botany. Vol. 114, No. 2, 2014, pp. 233-242, doi : 10.1093 / aob / mcu114 .
^ Robert Brown: An Account of a new Geneus of Plants, named Rafflesia. In: Transactions of the Linnean Society of London (= Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. Volume 13). Linnean Society of London, London 1822, p. 207. ( digitized version )

[kew-1] Rafflesia arnoldi R.Br. Plants of the World Online, Key Royal Botanic Gardens , accessed May 9, 2020.

[2] Lachezar A. Nikolov et al .: Holoparasitic Rafflesiaceae possess the most reduced endophytes and yet give rise to the world's largest flowers. In: Annals of botany. Vol. 114, No. 2, 2014, pp. 233-242, doi : 10.1093 / aob / mcu114 .

[3] Robert Brown: An Account of a new Geneus of Plants, named Rafflesia. In: Transactions of the Linnean Society of London (= Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. Volume 13). Linnean Society of London, London 1822, p. 207. ( digitized version )