THE WORLD'S LARGEST FLOWER

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2113, 18 April 1889, Page 2

THE WORLD'S LARGEST FLOWER

In the farthest south, etstsra Island, of the Philippine uroup, Mindlrato, urW one of Pa mcnatalnß, Parag, m tho rfelgh. borbood of the highest peak In the Island, the voloano Apo, a pirty of botanloil and ethnographical explorers found recently, at a height of 2500 feet above the sea level, a colors *1 fijwer. The dlsooverer, Dr Alexander Sohadenberg, could aoaroely believe his eyes when he saw amidst the low-growing bashes the Immense bads of this f]3wer, like gigsntlo brown cabbage heads.

Bat he was still more astonished when he found a speolmen m full bloom, a five* petaled nearer, nearly a yard In diameter — as large as a carriage wheel m fact. This enormous blossom was borne on a sort of vine, oreepiog'oa the ground. Is was known by the native who accompanied Dr Sohadenberg, who called It 80-o. The party had no soale by whioh the weight of the fliwer could be ascertained, but they improvised a swinging soale, using the boxes and spec'mena as weights. Weighing these when opportunity served It was found that a single flower weighed over twenty-two pounds. It was Impossible to transport the f reah fl jwer," so the travelers photographed It, and dried a number of its leaves by tbe heat of fire, Dr Schodenberg then sent the photograph and driea specimens to the Royal Botanfol Gardens at Breslau, where the learned direotor Immediately recognised It as a speoies of Refflaila, a plant formerly discovered In Sumatra and named after the English Governor, Sir Stamford Rzffleß,

The new flower was accordingly named R» jn^sia Sohadenbergia, The five petaili of this Immense flower are oval and oreamy white, and grow around c centre filled with countless long vlolet-hued stamens, tbtoker and longer In the female, or fertile flowers, than m the infertile. The fertilisation Is accomplished by lnseots whose larvso breed In the decaying flash of Its thiok petals. The fertile fl a war develops a soft berrylike fruit, In which countless seeds are embedded. The flower exhales a poisonous gas, even when first opened.—" Pittsburg Bulletin."