Taxonomy, ecology, and conservation status of Philippine <i>Rafflesia</i> (<i>Rafflesiaceae</i>)

Barcelona, Julie F.; Pelser, Pieter B.; Balete, Danilo S.; Co, Leonardo

doi:10.3767/000651909x474122

Cited by 47 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Several factors, including an earlier shift in the developmental timing of diaphragm initiation, the effective reduction in the perianth lobes, and the architectural remodeling of the chamber itself, could have contributed to the stabilization of these enormous flowers. Support for this hypothesis comes from the occurrence of lobed (imperfectly formed) diaphragms in Rafflesia, which are restricted to species of small size [e.g., Rafflesia lobata Barcelona & Pelser (32)]. Further investigation within Rafflesia will help to better address this question, but overall, our study highlights the surprising and dynamic nature of morphological evolution among the "greatest prodigy of the vegetable kingdom" (6).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…In terms of our identification of the Rafflesia diaphragm as the petal whorl, it is interesting to note that considerable variation in diaphragm morphology is observed in many species of Rafflesia. Some have distinctly lobed diaphragms, and others have reduced diaphragms that form a small shelf at the chamber opening (32). Elucidating the developmental basis of this variation may shed light on the modification of this floral organ.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Developmental origins of the world’s largest flowers, Rafflesiaceae

Nikolov

Endress

Sugumaran

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Rafflesiaceae, which produce the world's largest flowers, have captivated the attention of biologists for nearly two centuries. Despite their fame, however, the developmental nature of the floral organs in these giants has remained a mystery. Most members of the family have a large floral chamber defined by a diaphragm. The diaphragm encloses the reproductive organs where pollination by carrion flies occurs. In lieu of a functional genetic system to investigate floral development in these highly specialized holoparasites, we used comparative studies of structure, development, and gene-expression patterns to investigate the homology of their floral organs. Our results surprisingly demonstrate that the otherwise similar floral chambers in two Rafflesiaceae subclades, Rafflesia and Sapria, are constructed very differently. In Rafflesia, the diaphragm is derived from the petal whorl. In contrast, in Sapria it is derived from elaboration of a unique ring structure located between the perianth and the stamen whorl, which, although developed to varying degrees among the genera, appears to be a synapomorphy of the Rafflesiaceae. Thus, the characteristic features that define the floral chamber in these closely related genera are not homologous. These differences refute the prevailing hypothesis that similarities between Sapria and Rafflesia are ancestral in the family. Instead, our data indicate that Rafflesia-like and Sapria-like floral chambers represent two distinct derivations of this morphology. The developmental repatterning we identified in Rafflesia, in particular, may have provided architectural reinforcement, which permitted the explosive growth in floral diameter that has arisen secondarily within this subclade.ABC model | comparative gene expression | evo-devo | gigantism | parasitic plants

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developmental origins of the world’s largest flowers, Rafflesiaceae

Nikolov

Endress

Sugumaran

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…that was between 51-60 cm beared higher number of buds compared to other smaller and younger size of Tetrastigma. The occurrence and especially the well-being of the host plant are very crucial for Rafflesia to grow [31]. This showed that Tetrastigma that already matured was suitable for the buds to grow effectively.…”

Section: Results and Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and ecology of Rafflesia in Royal belum state park, Perak, Malaysia

Kedri¹,

Hamzah²,

Sukri³

et al. 2018

IJET

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Rafflesia, the biggest flowers in the world are considered as majestic and are made as ecotourism icons for several places in the South East Asia. Currently, a total of 34 species of Rafflesia were recorded in this region. 7 species of Rafflesia are found in Peninsular Malaysia alone. This study was executed in Royal Belum State Park in the state of Perak. An updated on distribution of Rafflesia and its ecology are provided. The Rafflesia population was mapped using Global Positioning System [GPS]. While the size of Rafflesia host-plant was measured with the measuring tape and the amount of rainfall was obtained from the Meteorological Department of Malaysia. During this study, there were 2 species of Rafflesia encountered in Royal Belum State Park, namely Rafflesia cantleyi Solms-Laubach and Rafflesia kerri Meijer. The species were recorded at X-Ray trail, Sg. Gadong, and Sg. Kooi. A total of 8 populations were set up from these locations. It was found that the population and the distribution decreased in accordance with the habitat interruption by human intervention and natural factors such as wildlife trampling on the immature buds. Besides, it was found that the number of Rafflesia buds increases with the class size for host-plant of Rafflesia with coefficients of determination of R 2 =0.9866. However, various physiological and environmental factors were taken into consideration in efforts of conserving this unique flower. This study is important in order to preserve the population of Rafflesia at Royal Belum State Park.

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“…(Vitaceae ;Meijer 1997;Nais 2001;Pelser et al 2016). The Philippines is one of the centers of Rafflesia diversity (Barcelona et al 2009) and is home to 13 currently recognized species (Pelser et al 2011 onwards;Barcelona et al 2014;Galindon et al 2016), which are all endemic to the country. Rafflesia lagascae Blanco (1845) is arguably the most common Rafflesia species in the Philippines and has the largest distributional area (Barcelona et al 2009).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is potentially a significant conservation factor, because the Philippine tropical rainforest, to which this species is confined, has been reduced to an estimated 3-6% of its original cover (Mittermeier et al 1998;Ong et al 2002). Moreover, remaining tropical forest habitat has become highly degraded and fragmented as a result of human activities such as logging, mining, and land conversion for agriculture (Barcelona et al 2009). To better understand the conservation needs of R. lagascae and to improve its management, information about its patterns of genetic diversity and genetic structure are needed.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%