Borneo's Giant Plant - The Rafflesia by Sylvia Arad

Borneo's Rafflesia is found mainly in the rainforests of Sarawak and Sabah. This parasitic flower grows to a diameter of more than 3 feet across with a weight of up to 22lbs. and is part of a family of about 20 species.

As a disembodied flower, the Rafflesia is a rootless, leafless and stemless parasite. It is nourished by its host vine, usually a Tetrastigma, related to a grapevine, and rampant in Borneo forests. The flower grows within the vine and first manifests itself as a tiny bud on the vine's stem. Over a period of 9-12 months, it expands and balloons to a cabbage-like head until it bursts open to reveal an astounding vivid-red fleshy five-petaled flower. The plant only flowers for 5-7 days before it begins to blacken and wither. As it withers, it emits a rotting, repulsive smell like rotting meat, in turn attracting to it insects and flies upon which the carnivorous plant then feeds.

Its rarity makes the Rafflesia difficult to view. In Tanbunen, Sabah, near Kota Kinabalu, a Rafflesia Conservation area has been established which provides information and trekking to view this unusual flower. The center, which serves as the entrance to pristine forest reserves, features an unusually high occurrence of the flower blooming for this otherwise rarely viewed plant.

Borneo's forests are home to thousands of types of flora and fauna, of which several are found only in this part of the world. These include the Nepenthes Raja, a giant carnivorous pitcher plant whose bell-like flower can hold more than 6 pints of liquid, the Paphiopedilum Rothschildianum, an extremely rare slipper orchid, and the Rafflesia, the world's largest flower.

The landscapes of Borneo provide adventure travelers a myriad of unusual flora and fauna - the Rafflesia being on the top of the list for unique viewing.