Friday, October 7, 2016

Rafflesia lobata

Aerial buds on Tetrastigma host vine. 
 Sebaste, Antique Province, Panay Island, Philippines. 
 Photo by Renee Galang


Galang, R. and D. A. Madulid. 2006.  A second new species of Rafflesia (Rafflesiaceae) from Panay Island, Philippines.  Folia Malaysiana 7: 1-8.
This species was discovered by Renee Galang during his expedition to Mt. Igtuog and Mt. Sakpaw in the Central Panay mountain range during the course of his study of the Philippine Spotted Deer (Cervus alfredi).

One of the most distinctive features of
 Rafflesia lobata is that some populations have flowers with a lobed diaphragm that opens outward.  Nearly all other Rafflesia (and Sapria) species have diaphragms that curve inward. That said, it is interesting to note that this feature is polymorphic in R. lobata (at least as the species is currently defined).  




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