And this is what we saw…

We went to Poring today where there are two Rafflesia keithii, the parasitic Rafflesia flowers – the second one was more than half a metre across. It was my first sight of a flower in bloom (somehow all I ever seemed to come across before were dead ones!)

The host plant is Tetrastigma tuberculatum. The local Dusun name is Yaya’a.

Absolutely beautiful. Worth the long drive on my sister’s last full day in Sabah.


Comments

And this is what we saw… — 8 Comments

  1. “Feed me! Feeeeeeed me!!!”

    (I think I’d be too scared to go as close as you did. That thing looks quite ready to have me for lunch…)

  2. Hmm, I confess that ‘beautiful’ isn’t the first word that springs to my mind for rafflesia flowers. Though they do have a kind of alien splendour.

  3. Glenda,
    How come your photos much sharper and better than the ones sent to me by Dato’ ?. Anyway, congratulation on being smitten by Rafflesia bug. Check out the latest R. kerrii bloom in Lojing I posted in my rafflesia-in-bloom.blogspot.com
    BTW the host is Tetrastigma tuberculatum, the name T leucostaphyllum is now no longer in use, Regards

  4. Kam, I’m a better photographer?? *grin* After all Ramly and I both have exactly the same model of camera….

    I have altered the Latin name – thanks for the heads up.

    I must say that a Rafflesia flower is impressive. Definitely something predatory about it – as if it is getting ready to take a bite out of your leg as you pass.

    Your blogsite is splendid, Kam!

  5. Oh, and btw, most people pronounce Rafflesia as Raf-flees-ia, but as Datuk Seri Lim Chong Keat pointed out to us…with a smile…’Take the fleas out of Rafflesia!’

    It’s named after a person, Raffles, and therefore the prononciation should be Raffles-ia. No fleas.

  6. Thanks, I have got some 100 to 200 visitors avery day to my bloghomes (I have too many of them!)

    Ahhhh Dato’Seri…
    You can pronounce it in any way you want lah. I was thought by many prominent botanists that once latinised, or latinized, the original root pronounciation will dissapear. So Rafflesia is Raffleeezia, and here we are not refering to Sir Raffles anymore. If you follow Dato’ Seri Lim, Magnolia will be Magnyolia, as the French would call Pierre Magnyol for Magnol, isn’t it? But if you said “look at that beautiful Magnyolia”, they would say emmmm… baru balik paris la tu…

  7. Please post up a lot more pics of Tawau Hills Park, especially the trees.

    Did you know the Tawau Hills Park tress are the tallest tropical trees in the world?

    Hoping to make a trip there one day, but a pity most of the park has been logged in the past ( during 1970s).

    A nice pic of your husband with the tree, I figure that one is probably in excess of 60m in height…as they are at Tawau.

    Feel me to drop me an email…I’m a Malaysian rainforest “enthusiast” 🙂

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