Death flower’s dying - 23rd October 2023

Western scientists are racing against time to rescue the Rafflesia flower from going extinct. The giant red flower remains a mystery to western scientists but is losing its natural habitat at an alarming rate as a result of deforestation and lack of conservation.

Rafflesia, known as stinking corpse lily, is part of a group of parasitic flowers which release a scent of putrid flesh to attract carrion flies. The species grows on vines in the rainforests of Southeast Asia, where it’s the national flower of Indonesia.

Popular in traditional medicinal practices amongst indigenous groups, the flower’s incorporated in medicines and tonics for a wide range of health benefits ranging from energy to fertility. Although this has been common practice in indigenous cultures across Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, Rafflesia remains largely unknown amongst western scientists.

The stinking corpse lily isn’t conducive to being cultivated outside of their natural habitat. This increases its risk of extinction as its natural habitat, Southeast Asian forests, are the fastest deforested area in the world.

The journal Plants, People, Planet published the first global research on Rafflesia, noting that the populations of the species "are still being eradicated before they are even known to science."

Sixty percent of the species is severely endangered with two-thirds of their forests unprotected. Author of the study, Dr Chris Thorogood stressed, "We urgently need a joined-up cross-regional approach to save some of the world’s most remarkable flowers."

Thorogood reiterated that "Indigenous peoples — who represent only five percent of the globe's human population — are the stewards of 80 percent of the Earth's biodiversity."

Thorogood has encouraged urgent research into the taxonomy of Rafflesia to increase our chances of cultivating it outside its natural habitat. He’s also pushing to involve indigenous communities in the movement to protect the giant marvel that is Rafflesia.