Viability of having the gigantic Rafflesia flowers in our park

Rafflesia is said to be vulnerable to extinction because of its biological peculiarities.1 Being unisexual and dioeciously, the male and female flowers need to bloom synchroniously in the same area for effective pollination by carrion flies to succeed. Without new seeds formed to be deposited onto the mature hosts, no one can guarantee that they will be there in the ecosystem forever. It is true that the parasite continues to multiple inside the host’s tissue and later emerge in new colony but without out-crossing, inbreeding will ultimately genetically disastrous. With this innocent biological hickup, and a specific host requirement, namely the Tetrastigma species (Vitaceae), made Rafflesia even more prone to extinction in the near future (Table 1). Its parasitic mode of life and specialized biological requirement also decrease Rafflesia survival rate in the wild. In its range of distribution, Rafflesia species are rare and their habits are geared towards a stable habitat. From the earliest bud stage in their life, when the flower appears as small tubercle covered by cupule derived from the tissue of the host plant, it will take about 4 to 9 months before the flower blooms fully. In some species it will take no less than 6-8 months. In the process, two-thirds of them die before reaching maturity and only a small number will reach blooming stage.