A very rare parasitic flowering plant, Rafflesia speciosa, which is a member of the family of the world's largest flower, has been discovered in the 169-has. Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park buffer zone, a Philippine National Oil Co.-Energy Development Corp. commissioned study released yesterday showed.

“The species is the first record of this unique genus is the island (of Negros ),” the PNOC-EDC commissioned Maunsell Philippines Inc. Biodiversity Study furnished the DAILY STAR said.

“The genus Rafflesia is very rare and can only be seen in the forests of Panay, Palawan , Makiling and Banahaw,” the study said.

Among the seven recorded Rafflesia species in the Philippines , Rafflesia Speciosa has the largest flower that can attain a maximum diameter of two feet, the PNOC-EDC study said. The one found in the MKNP buffer zone was about 30 centimeters.

The Rafflesia, unlike other flowers that are just parts of plants, is the plant itself, a Haribon Foundation report said.

“It has no stem, no branch, not even leaves. But its real strangeness lies in its size, these blooms range in diameter from a cabbage head to a car tire. Finally, instead of the pleasant scents we've come to normally identify with flowers, most of these giant blooms emit a foul rotting odor,” the report written by Art Fuentes and posted on the Haribon website (www.haribon.org.ph) added.

The flower is named after its European discoverer Thomas Stamford Raffles. First discovered in Sumatra in 1818, more than twenty Rafflesia species have been found so far in different parts of Southeast Asia . Many of the species are extremely rare, and have been recorded from only a handful of localities, the Haribon report stated.

“The flower is actually a parasite. It grows within its host, the tetrastigma vine, and in its early stages appears as but a tangle of fibers. It only starts manifesting itself during its reproductive cycle. Outgrowths appear on the root vine, then cabbage-like buds develop, then a fully open flower blooms and bears fruit. The flowers themselves take a long time to develop,” Fuentes wrote.

PNOC-EDC senior vice president Agnes de Jesus yesterday assured that the firm will avoid all important species, including the Rafflesias when it enters the Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park buffer zone to tap geothermal energy.

“We will mark all important species and physically avoid cutting them. This rule applies to the Rafflesias,” she told the DAILY STAR.

In fact the biodiversity study said the specimen was found outside the PNOC-EDC development area in the buffer zone.

The PNOC-ENC Northern Negros Georthermal Power plant is located in Mailum, Bago, and the firm plans on entering 29 hectares of the buffer zone to tap more geothermal power.

In order to enter the area with minimal environmental damage it was required to conduct a biodiversity study.

Eight other species, which are probably new island records, have also been listed but still need verification, the study said.

Results of the study also revealed that the Mt. Kanlaon buffer zone, including the PNOC-EDC proposed development area has a high biodiversity value.

The number of new island records, island or near endemics, Philippine endemics and threatened species in the area are found to be significant, the study said.

The PNOC-EDC entry into the buffer zone, however, will not have a considerable effect on the overall biodiversity of the area considering the modest size of its development area, the study said.

It is 17 percent of the 160-hectare buffer zone and only .1 percent of MKNP, the study added.

Measures will be adopted to minimize the effects of the PNOC-EDC entry into the buffer zone and to enhance its ecological status, de Jesus said.*CPG

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