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Rare flower Rafflesia needs saving, says Bogor Botanical Gardens researcher
Rafflesia researcher Sofi Mursidawati is hopeful that one day Rafflesia arnoldii can be grown outside its original habitat, such as at Bogor Botanical Gardens, to provide an opportunity for those who live in Greater Jakarta to marvel at the spectacular parasite directly.
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Endangered species: A Rafflesia patma blooms at the Bogor Botanical Gardens in 2012. (JP/Theresia Sufa)
"Rafflesia is a unique, giant parasite as it boasts a complicated life and interesting story behind its beauty. But most importantly, Indonesia is home to various Rafflesia species that must continue to be explored," said Sofi Mursidawati.
Born 50 years ago in Bandung, West Java, Sofi is a Rafflesia researcher at the Plant Conservation Center at Bogor Botanical Gardens. She began studying the flowers in 2004 following her return from Australia after getting her master's degree at the University of Western Australia in Perth.
"After returning from Australia, [Bogor Botanical Gardens head] Ibu Irawati asked me to study Rafflesia since nobody else did, although during my time in Australia I mostly researched Rhizantella gardneri, one of the country's rare orchids that lives and blooms underground," said Sofi.
Sofi said that she chose to study the orchids since she initially planned to concentrate on the Bogor Botanical Gardens' rare Gastrodia bamboo, which have long been planted there and only appear once in several decades, hence why they are known in some countries as “ghost orchids”.
However due to Ibu Irawati's request, she instead focused on studying Rafflesia in 2004. In 2010, the Rafflesia patma that she explored at Pangandaran Forest Park successfully bloomed at Bogor Botanical Gardens.
During research for Rafflesia padma, Sofi faced many challenges. In 2006, for instance, around 200 trees at the gardens fell down due to heavy rain, which also destroyed many of the plants she was studying. Fortunately, some of the plants could be saved as they were kept in a separate place.
Read also: Six places in Indonesia to marvel at the stinking corpse lily
