Rare flowers plucked and sold for $1.45

GRIK (Kedah) - The world's biggest flower, the rafflesia, is rapidly disappearing from the Temenggor Lake district here as indigenous groups here harvest the blossoms for medicine shops.

'The rafflesia is sold to the medicine shops for RM3 each,' said an assistant forest warden. The sum is equivalent to S$1.45.

A state protected plant, the rafflesia in Temenggor, which produces flowers up to 50-cm wide, is one of three species found in the peninsula and is known for its many medicinal uses.

The unusual rhododendrons, rare pitcher plants and giant red blossoms of rafflesia take four years to grow in the wild. It only blooms for five days.

'Currently, there are 20 rafflesia sites in the area, but this is bound to diminish as the medicine shops have been collecting and selling more than 50 rafflesia a month,' said the warden.

'We hope to educate the orang asli about the rafflesia and encourage them to notify us about the sites where they are found so that we can protect them for eco-tourism.

'Eco tourism will then be beneficial to both the rafflesia and the orang asli,' he added. --The Star/Asia News Network