The Rafflesia flower, named after the 18th century Singapore and Indonesia colonial administrator, Thomas Raffles, was originally found in Sumatra.

Only a couple of decades ago, a new addition to the 15 or 16 known species - Raflesia pricei meijer - was found in Borneo. First in Sabah, and then in Brunei and Sarawak, but not in Kalimantan - that is until now. A chance discovery in the Malinau Research Forest, site of much of CIFOR's work in East Kalimantan, and a near simultaneous "discovery" in the neighboring Kayan Menterang national Park, forces us to re-think the distribution of this rare species. Prior to this, no species of Rafflesia had been seen in East Kalimantan for nearly 80 years and known populations appeared extinct.

The Rafflesia is famous not so much for its famous namesake but for the fact that it include the world's largest flowers, measuring close to a meter in diameter. They are also well known for their most unflower-like behaviour: giving off a rancid meat smell three or four days after blossoming. So bad is the smell that botanists in the early 20th century described its insect-ridden and putrefying leaves as a "vegetable monster."

Of course, as always with mother nature, the Rafflesia behaves the way it does for good reason. In this case, the vile odor attracts flies for pollination. Pollination is believed to be further enhanced by small mammals eating the fruit of the plant and distributing the seeds through their droppings.

"This discovery in Malinau is only the tip of the iceberg and reminds us that the true extent and value of tropical forest biodiversity remains an unknown quantity," said CIFOR researcher, Douglas Sheil. CIFOR's surveys in Malinau have already detected a number of plant and animal species previously un-described by science, and some of these have local uses.

"Only a fraction of known species has been examined for potential medicinal, agricultural or industrial value. The Rafflesia is a case in point. In Malaysia it is used as a traditional medicine by women to recover after pregnancy. But little is known about this, let alone about other possible medicinal uses or the role the Rafflesia plays in the well-being of the rainforest and the global environment," Sheil said.

The species in Malinau was "discovered" purely by chance when a CIFOR team stumbled across a 30 centimeter flower while undertaking biodiversity research into the endangered honey bear and bearded pig.