Rafflesia Trek
About
The trek to the Rafflesia is near a little village about 12km from Gopeng, near Ipoh, Perak. To trek through the jungle to where the Rafflesia thrives, you need to engage the services of a Semai Orang Asli guide. The trek was hilly, some parts you really have to climb. Halfway up the hill, you can already see a Rafflesia. There were a few rotting carcasses here and there.
Rafflesia is parasitic and gets their nutrients from the lianas they parasitically grow on. Indeed they are a fascinating species and it's unfortunate that their main claim to fame is by being the biggest flower in the world. Rafflesia is stemless, leafless, barkless, and rootless. It is reputed to have the most awful stench but this is quite exaggerated.
In the heart of the Rafflesia, there™Ã¯Â¿Â½Ã¯Â¿Â½s a feelers surrounded by something that looks like soft flesh and pale, protected by big white dotted pustules. There are about 20 species of Rafflesia known in the World and 60 types of butterflies in Kampung Ulu Geroh. The Rafflesia Cantleyi, whose flowers measure up to 55cm with perigone lobes up to 14cm long and 18cm wide, grows high up in the thick forests of Ulu Geroh.
The Orang Asli call them Bunga Pakma ( Pakma derived from the Sanskrit word of lotus ) For generations Rafflesia have been used in traditional medicine especially for post ™Ã¯Â¿Â½Ã¯Â¿Â½ natal remedies. A typical blooming period of the Rafflesia is within 4 to 5 days. There are hundreds of Rajah Brooke butterflies to see flitting about in a muddy area in the jungle of Ulu Geroh.
