Rafflesia verrucosa (Rafflesia verrucosa)
Description
Rafflesia verrucosa was first identified and characterized during a small mammal survey of Mt. Kampalili in eastern Mindanao in 2010. R. verrucosa is the tenth species of Rafflesia found in the Philippines. Rafflesia species have rare and unusual flowers known for their large size and pungent smell. Some plant enthusiasts like Frits W. Went have gone to extreme measures to see these plants in bloom. Went detailed his search for Rafflesia saying, > "I had heard, when I was in Java many years ago, that Rafflesia were to be found on an offshore island named Nusah Kembangan. This was in 1929, when it was a penal colony for major criminals. My driver on this occasion was a convicted murderer, and my guide was serving time for cannibalism." The small size and interesting morphology of Rafflesia verrucosa make it one of the most unusual Rafflesia species. It is the smallest flowered Rafflesia species described from Mindanao. The other two, R. mira and R. schadenbergiana, are some of the largest in the genus.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Malpighiales
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Family: Rafflesiaceae
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Genus: Rafflesia
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