How the plant grows
Rafflesia pricei lives as a parasite inside its host vine rather than forming familiar green leaves and stems. A bud develops outward and opens into a large patterned flower. Southern Illinois University documents flowers at Tambunan in Sabah and a host identified as Tetrastigma lanceolarum. Protecting the host vine is therefore part of protecting the flower.
Sources & references · 1
Southern Illinois University, D. L. Nickrent · Rafflesia pricei: documented flowers and host at TambunanProtecting the plant and its habitat
Flora Malesiana records this Bornean species in northern parts of the island. It is different from Rafflesia keithii and Rafflesia tuan-mudae; a photograph of another Rafflesia must not be substituted. At viewing sites, the inconspicuous host and unopened buds deserve as much space as the open bloom. An existing population does not guarantee a flower on a particular visiting day.
Sources & references · 2
Naturalis · Rafflesiaceae, Flora MalesianaSouthern Illinois University, D. L. Nickrent · Rafflesia pricei: documented flowers and host at TambunanEcological relationships
Fieldwork in Sabah’s Crocker Range documented carrion flies transferring pollen between male and female flowers. Female Lucilia papuensis predominated, carrying pollen on the thorax; flies from Lucilia and Chrysomya were recorded as visitors.
