THE WORLD'S LARGEST FLOWER.

Waikato Times, Volume 2620, Issue XXXII, 27 April 1889, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE WORLD'S LARGEST FLOWER.

In - the furthest south en-tern Island of the Philippine croup, Mindinao, upon one ot its mountains. Parag, in the neighbourhood of the highest peak in the island, the volcano, Apo, a party of botanical and ethnographical explorers found recently, at a height of '2500 feet above the sea level, a colossal flower. The discoverer, Dr Alexander Schadenberg, could scarcely bslieve bis eyes when ho saw amidst the low-growing bushes the immense buds of this flower, like gigantic brown cabbago heads. But he was .'-till more astonished when he found a specimen in full bloom, a five petulod flower, nearly a yard iu diameter —as large as a carriage-wheel iu fact This enormous blossom wan borne on a sort of vine, creeping on the ground. Ii was knowu by the native who accompanied DrSch.idenberg, who called it 80-o. The party had 110 scale by which the weight of the flower could bo ascertained, but they improvised a swinging scale, tisinir the boxes aad specimens 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 fresh 11 iwer, so the travellers photographed it, and dried a number of its leaves by the heat of a fire. Dr Schardenberg then sent the photograph and uried specimens to the .Royal Botanical GardeD at B'esliu. whero the learned director immediately recognised it as a species of Ralllesia, a plant formerly discovered in Sumatra and named after the English Governor, Sir Stamford Raffles. The new flower was accordingly named Ralliesia Schadenbergia. The live petals of this immense flower are oval and creamy white, and grow around a centre filled with countless long violet hued stamens, thicker and longer in tho female, or fertile flowers, than in the infertile. The fertilization is aceomplisned by inserts whose laiv;e bieediutho decaying flesh of its thick petals. The fertile flower develops a sofr. berry-like fruit, in which countlcss seads aro embedded. The flower exhales a poisonous gas, even when first opened.—Pittsburg Bulletin.