Rafflesia

Rafflesia, the world’s largest and smelliest single flower on record. It is one of the 13 species of Rafflesia found in the Philippines. It was discovered in the mountains of Sibalom Natural Park in Antique, Panay in 2002. This medium-sized Rafflesia is known to occur only in the island of Panay where it thrives in lowland secondary forest patches in dry areas under thick leaf litter.

Also known as “Uruy” and “Karay-a” in the Panay Peninsula, it may take up to nine months to spring from seed to flower. The flowers of Rafflesia Speciosa takes about 18 hours to expand fully but a short-term bloomer that only last up to 3-5 days. It was adopted as the symbol of the Sibalom Natural Park and the municipality of Sibalom in Antique, Panay. The population of this new species are currently categorized as Endangered as their habitats are threatened by deforestation.

Scientific name: Rafflesia consueloae
Family: Rafflesiaceae