Dr Chris Thorogood says the Rafflesia plant is both a ‘vegetable vampire’ – and ‘magnificent’ (Image: Dr Chris Thorogood)
Rafflesia is the world’s largest flower – and also one of botany’s enduring mysteries.
Dr Chris Thorogood has endured significant hardships to get a glimpse. He’s chopped his way through thick forests populated by venomous snakes, braved war-torn regions of the world, and stayed with tribes in remote villages.
But for him, the sacrifice is worth it – just to get close to a plant he regards as a living miracle – and one into which he will offer fascinating insights at New Scientist Live at London’s ExCel centre next month.
As well as being the deputy director and head of science at the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum, Dr Thorogood will be familiar to BBC Radio 4 listeners as a panellist on Gardeners’ Question Time.
But the plant he is currently focusing on is a long way removed from violets, carnations and rose.
Rafflesia plants give off a scent of rotting meat (Image: Dr Chris Thorogood)
He told Express.co.uk: “Rafflesia is an enigma.
“It’s the world’s largest flower, measuring a metre across, and it has no leaves, roots or chlorophyll.
“It exists as a parasite – pilfering its food from a tropical vine in which it spends most of its life creeping about like a tapeworm, emerging only to flower.
“And when it does, it’s just astonishing: it sends into the world a grotesque, red, blotchy flower that smells of rotting meat to attract pollinating flies.”
Mr Thorogood describes the flower, which looks like an enormous starfish as “just magnificent”, continuing: “Honestly to see one is what all botanists dream of: it’s the closest thing to magic.”
Much of Rafflesia’s life cycle is a mystery, Dr Thorogood admitted.
He explained: “It’s almost impossible to grow, and many species are rarely seen by people – they flower in places you just can’t get to.
The titan atum, another flower found by Dr Thorogood (Image: Dr Chris Thorogood)
“The rarest of them grow deep in the most inaccessible jungles that you have to machete a path through – the conditions can be tough.”
One on occasion Dr Thorogood became ill after staying with a tribe in the Philippines, with the result that he lost quite a lot of weight and was “quite poorly” for some time after returning to the UK.
He said: “Botanists can get to places where tourists can’t – I often need special permits and written permission.
“And sometimes these can be places where there is armed conflict with rebels, or deadly snakes to be careful of.
“But at the time it rarely feels dangerous because we’re driven by our blind desire to find these incredible plants.”
The spectacular jade vine plant (Image: Dr Chris Thorogood)
“Yes, in an age of instant information and discovery, there are still mysteries in the plant world. Isn’t that great?”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, actually tracking them down is something of a challenge.
Dr Thorogood said: “There are about forty species of Rafflesia that grow across Southeast Asia, and most are difficult or nigh-on impossible to find.
Sadly many Rafflesia populations are now threatened with extinction, Dr Thorogood warned.
He said: “The biggest threat to Rafflesia is land conversion – deforestation to make way for crops – for example oil palms.
“But in many cases this is a result of what’s called ‘slash and burn’ cultivation that might be carried out by, for example, smallholder farmers who are just trying to make a living with the land they have. So it’s a difficult challenge to solve.”
Rhizanthes deceptor, another remarkable plant (Image: Dr Chris Thorogood)
Dr Thorogood also believes the importance of plant diversity sometimes gets overlooked.
He admitted: “People can think that plants, unlike animals, are boring because they don’t move on our timescale – so they seem inanimate.
“As a botanist, I have to work hard to show people plants in new ways, for example explaining to them the fascinating interactions that have evolved between plants and animals.
“It may be in the form of an insect-eating pitcher plant, or a ‘vegetable vampire’ like Rafflesia that sucks sap from the roots of other plants.
“Once people take the time to look at a plant, or are shown one in a way that goes beyond the textbook example of photosynthesis, they often find them captivating.
“And that’s important because we depend on plants for our existence – the air we breathe, the food we eat and the medicines we take. We just cannot afford to ignore plants.”
As for his slot at New Scientist Live, Dr Thorogood will be talking about his new book, Pathless Forest.
He said: “My ambition with the book was to portray plants in a different way. Plants fall into the shadows when we think of biology and conservation – we tend to notice animals more as I said.
“But plants often outsmart animals quite considerably, you just sometimes have to look a little harder to notice.
“Pathless Forest is about my adventures looking for and trying to save Rafflesia but more than that I wanted to help people to see plants in the way I do.”
After that, he’s heading back to Southeast Asia in November.
He concluded: “With these trips I’ve learned that the only certainty is uncertainty; so I can’t be sure exactly where we’ll go or what we’ll see – but I’ve never been on an expedition where we didn’t encounter something extraordinary. I’m sure this one will be no different.”
Dr Chris Thorogood is at New Scientist Live on October 12.
