RAFFLESIA TENGKU-ADLINII OF IMBAK CANYON

CONSERVATION AREA
Elia Godoong1, Pius Pansang2, Saiful Narimin2, Shamsul Khamis3, B. Ahmad4, Hamzah Tangki2, Yap Sau Wai2
1Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia;
212th Floor, Menara Tun Mustapha, Yayasan Sabah, Likas Bay, P.O.Box 11623, 88817 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
3Faculty Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia.
4Forestry Complex, Faculty Of Science And Natural Resources, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

Claimed to be the world’s biggest flower, in the genus Rafflesia (Rafflesiaceae) parasite. The largest individual flower is produce
by Rafflesia arnoldii, has a very strong and horrible odour of decaying flesh. Records have shown that Rafflesia centre of species
diversity is in Borneo where 6 of the 14 species occur (Meijer 1984; Nais 1992). Next, in Nais (2001), these numbers change to 6
out of 18, and in 2010 the numbers are 6 out of 27, after 9 additional species were described from the region, 7 from the
Philippines and one each from Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra (Balete et al., 2010). This shows that the Philippines Rafflesia
have increased to 10 species. In 1989 Mat-Salleh & Latiff described Rafflesia tengku-adlinii, the sixth species of the genus Rafflesia
known to occur in Borneo which was discovered on Mount Trusmadi, Sabah. Perhaps the smallest and rarest species, its flowers
on average about 20 cm in diameter. This species was named in honour of Tengku Datuk (Dr.) D. Z Adlin, conservationist, former
president of the Sabah Society, Chairman of Sabah Tourism Board and the Deputy Director of Sabah Foundation. Since that it was
one of the most well known icon for Maliau Basin and Imbak Canyon.

Different stages of Rafflesia tegnku-adlinii development

Location of Rafflesia tengku-adliinii along the trail, mostly in the Virgin
Jungle Reserve (VJR)
Conservation of Rafflesia
Rafflesia buds is famous for use in tradition medicine in Peninsular
Malaysia but not much in Sabah. The common belief is that the Rafflesia
buds will help mothers recover after their pregnancy. However, in Sabah
the main treat is land conversion, it was recorded in ITP (industrial tree
plantation) in FMU’s areas. The discovered of many colonies during this
expedition is indeed a good sign for its distribution range and
conservation. Further study on the ecology and propagation of Rafflesia
is needed to understand this special flower. We hope Sabah Foundation
will finance or support these study to understand this flower and
enhance its conservation status.

References:
Balete, D.S., Pelser, P.B., Nickrent, D.L., and Barcelona, J.F. (2010). Rafflesia verrucosa (Rafflesiaceae), a new species of small-flowered Rafflesia from eastern Mindanao,
Philippines. Phytotaxa 10: 49–57.
Mat-Salleh, K. & A. Latiff. 1989. A new species of Rafflesia and notes on other species from Trus Madi range, Sabah (Borneo).Blumea 34: 111-116.
Meijer, W. (1984). New species of Rafflesia (Rafflesiaceae). Blumea 30: 209–215. Nais, J. (1992). Distribution, dispersal and some notes on Rafflesia around Kinabalu,
Malaysia. In: Ghazaly Ismail, Murtedza Mohamed and Siraj Omar (eds.), Forest Biology and conservation in Borneo. Centre for Borneo Studies, Publication No. 2: 97–108.
Nais, J. (2001). Rafflesia of the world. Sabah Parks, Kota Kinabalu.

Contact
Acknowledgement: Elna Andrea Jemmy, Eddyrra Eddy Joeman, Jakariah Ahmad, Alasri Asni, Idris Arsan, Fredoline Tonny, Dr. Elia Godoong
elia@ums.edu.my
Jadda Suhaimi, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Yayasan Sabah, Petronas, Sabah Forestry Department
eliagodoong@gmail.com