"Rafflesia Arnoldii flower has been selected to represent Indonesia in this years international flower festival in South Korea," Bengkulu Governor Junaidi Hamsyah stated here on Monday.
Before being sent to South Korea, the worlds largest and rarest flower will be preserved by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) in cooperation with the Bengkulu research and development office.
Rafflesia is an endemic flower of Sumatra. Its habitats include rainforests in Central Bengkulu, Kepahiang and Kaur districts, Bengkulu province.
In 2013, Indonesia sent the Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum), also known as the corpse flower, to the South Korea flower festival. The rare, gigantic flower is also an endemic flower of Bengkulu.
The Bengkulu administration is currently making a map of the Rafflesia habitats in the province.
Rafflesia Arnoldii was found, for the first time, by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles and British botanist Josepth Arnold in Bengkulu, in 1818.
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