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Raising a
Stink << SABAH Parks Assistant Director (Research and Education) Dr Jamili Nais has been raising a huge stink--and the department is thoroughly happy about it. That's because he and his team are the first in the world to successfully grow the foul-smelling Rafflesia keithii flower. The unique bloom was cultivated way back in 1929 at the Bogor Botanic Gardens in Indonesia, but the technique was never documented so no one was able to repeat the feat till now.
"Almost everyone would want the opportunity to see Rafflesia in bloom. The prospect of being able to cultivate it is certainly appealing, both in terms of conservation and potential ecotourism,'' says Jamili. He adds that there had actually been a race to propagate the plant between the United States, the Netherlands, Indonesia and Singapore as well as two other Malaysian teams (one in Sabah itself and the other from the peninsula). Jamili's efforts led to a doctorate for him from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, and a Guinness Effort Award for him and his two assistants. The journey began seven years ago when Sabah Parks researchers found a R. keithii fruit in the Poring Hotsprings area near Kota Kinabalu. The research carried out on the fruit at the Poring Orchid Conservation Garden resulted in substantial knowledge about the plant's life-cycle. First, attempts were made to cultivate the flower by moving the buds; then tissue culture was tried, using all sorts of mediums, including extracts from the parasitic flower's host vine, Tetrastigma. But all these methods failed. Finally, in July 1995, the team thought of inoculating 10 selected Tetrastigma vines with seeds. Four years later, in May 1999, two of the vines showed emerging Rafflesia buds. Finally, on Feb 2 this year, a bud burst gloriously--and stinkingly--into flower! "I was very happy and very proud as the outcome was never certain even after such a long wait,'' says Jamili, beaming. Details of the inoculation method, which includes pre-treating the seeds, are to remain a trade secret of Sabah Parks, says Jamili. "Many people would want to grow Rafflesia. Almost all botanic gardens in the world would want to grow it in their gardens. Due to this success by Sabah Parks, there will be growing demand for Rafflesia seeds and the host plant,'' says Jamili happily. That might come with a price, though, as there might be possible encroachment and smuggling out of seeds. That makes the wild Rafflesia habitats even more important as they will be the source for seeds. As Jamili puts it, once cultivation spreads to botanic gardens worldwide (at the moment, though, enquiries have come only from individuals), more people will see the flower. This might make more people want to see it in the wild in its original location. That would be a boost for ecotourism in Sabah and, indirectly, for the conservation of the flower's habitat. And that raises not a stink but the sweet smell of success for conservation, don't you think?
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