Name : Fitri Nur Media Purwanti

Class : XI MIA 3

Number Of Absent : 16

Writing Connection

Write an information report on any one of the following topics. Use the format you learnt in
building blocks.

- Endangered animals of Indonesia

- Endangered flora of Indonesia

Endangered Flora Of Indonesia

Rafflesia Arnoldii

Rafflesia Arnoldii is a member the genus of Rafflesia and the biggest flower in the
world. Rafflesia Arnoldii was discovered first or was found by Sir Thomas Stamford
Rafffles who gave high attention to the botanical garden in Bogor from the British
Governor General when he was colonizing Indonesia, and his assistant Dr. Joseph Arnold
in Bengkulu, Sumatra in 1818. The Rafflesia Arnoldii is very beautiful and amazing
flower. It is noted for producing the largest individual flower’s petals on earth, and the
smell of rotten meat that gives out or a strong odor of decaying flesh – the latter point
earning it the nickname of “corpse flower”. While locally known as “patma raksasa” or
giant flower. There are ten of raflesia species, and its occur only grow in the undisturbed
rainforests in Southeast Asia, mainly in Borneo and Sumatra Islands in the Indonesian
Archipelago. Although there are some plants with larger flowering organs like the Titan
Arum and Talipot palm, those are technically clusters of many flowers.

First, attention to the size. It can reach nearly one meter in diameter and 1.40 meters
in height and can reach weigh up to 11 kilograms. The Rafflesia Arnoldii consist of two
parts, the stick, like part which grows in the middle, and the petal or slices of thick crown
around and below it. The five petals of Rafflesia Arnoldii are brownish red in colour let
out a disturbing odor just like the smell of dead body or corpse in an advanced stage of
decomposition and the flower has white spots, which surrounds the middle of the flower
much like a big hole. That big hole can save six liters of water. At the base of the flower
there is a part which has needles and contains the reproduction parts of the flower.
Rafflesia Arnoldii reproduces with the help of flies that are attracted to the flowers smell
(which some observers say smells much like bad meat and rotten eggs mixed). The flower
only lasts for five to seven days and then dies.

The flowers are unisexual and thus proximity of male and female flowers is vital for
successful pollination.

Rafflesia Arnoldii does not have roots, trunks, stems, and leaves, yet is still
considered a vascular plant. Perhaps the only part of Rafflesia that is identifiable as
distinctly plant-like are the flowers; although, even these are unusual since they attain
massive proportions, have a reddish-brown coloration, white spots and stink of rotting
flesh.

Similar to fungi, individuals grow as thread-like strands of tissue completely

embedded within and in intimate contact with surrounding host cells from which nutrients
and water are obtained but it survives by attaching it self to a host plant and leeching water
and nutrients. Because of lacking choroplasts the Rafflesia Arnoldii can not
photosynthesize making it a parasite, living on other plants nutrition or on the Tetrastigma
vine. This flower growth as parasite of spread plant in the forest. However, Rafflesia does
not kill its host. When Rafflesia buds sticking out of the bark of the host plant, then the
bud inflated for approximately ten months, often up to the size of a large cabbage. Then,
within a few hours, it started to chap-shows all its beauty. In the center of the flower there
are bumps like thorns. Its function is not yet known, but researchers suspect that the
bumps that may be useful to distribute heat so it smells more sharp. But, the beauty can
disappear fastly. Only in few day, the flowers fade and decay, left black mucus pile.

The Raflesia plant begins to flower in its tenth year. It blooms three or four times in a
year. Before it begins to flower, the leaves and the stem become dry and look dead,
however, the main root in the ground is still alive. While the flower is blossoming, it has a
very unpleasant smell which attracts insects especially green flies to transfer pollen from
one flower to another. They seem eager to explore the flower and when they touch the
bottom part, they die. However, if the flies touch the bottom part of the stick-like center,
they will die.

Now, Rafflesia Arnoldii is rare and threatened or endengered and now this famous
flower is on the brink of extinction. It is one of the three national flowers in Indonesia, the
other two being the white jasmine and moon orchid. It was officially recognized as a
national "rare flower”. Because Male and female flower must growth near one to other for
pollination, however most bud did not get ripe or bloom and Rafflesia buds are often taken
to be used as a traditional medicine or food. As a result, the number of plants in the wild is
much reduced. Anyway, the rain forest habitat of this flower are constantly destroyed.
Beside that the Rafflesia Arnoldi is fairly hard to locate. It is especially difficult to locate
the flower in forests as the buds take many months to develop and the flower lasts for just
a few days. How many of these plants still survive is unknown, but as the remaining
primary forests of Borneo and Sumatra disappear, it can only be assumed that their
numbers are dwindling. Many are known to be nearing extinction. Some environmentalists
are thinking of a way to recreate the species’ environment, in an effort to stimulate a
recovery in the population of this endangered species. This has proved unsuccessful so far,
but the efforts have continued. Steps are also being taken to conserve the forests of
Sumatra and Borneo.