"We found it inside a forest, near the bank of Pangkulan river, Padangguci Hulu," Nopriyanto, a local teacher, who discovered the giant flower, said on Saturday.
Nopriyanto said local villagers had actually known about the full-bloom Rafflesia bengkuluensis, but they considered Rafflesia bengkuluensis flowers as common in their village. They did not know that the flower is very rare and unique, he added.
When Nopriyanto, a local teacher, heard about the full-bloom flower, he went to the site to check.
"Its color is light red, almost pink, and has a diameter of around 45 to 50 cm," he said.
The location of the flower is about one hour walk from the village having a difficult topography as there are hills and the Cawang Kidau river that have to be crossed to see the flower.
Bengkulu has several kinds of Rafflesia flowers including Rafflesia arnoldii. Rafflesia bengkuluensis is the rarest one and was discovered and identified for the first time by three lecturers of Bengkulu University in 2005.
(T.SYS/B/F001/S012)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
