360 Descriptions of Malayan Plants. 



tionis maxima, crassa, stigmate truncate coronata, disco pro- 

 cessibus pluribus corniculatis echinato. 



Mas. Antherce numerosae^ globosse, sessiles, sub-stigmate in 

 orbem dispositee, apice poro umbilicatae, substantia cellulosa. 



Fem. Semina minuta, nidulantia in substantia rimosa 

 baseos columnse cui antherse deficiunt. 



Herba parasitica aphylla, flore giganteo. 



RAFFLESIA TITAN * 

 Sumatran name, Peliman Sikuddi, or Devil's Siri-box. 

 Native of the forests in the interior of Sumatra, particu- 

 larly those of Passummah Ulu Manna, where it was first 

 discovered by Sir T. S. Raffles on his journey into that 

 country in 1818. 



This gigantic flower is parasitic on the lower stems and 

 roots of the Cissus angustifolia, Roxb. It appears at first 

 in the form of a small round knob, which gradually increases 

 in size. The flower-bud is invested by numerous membra- 

 naceous sheaths, which surround it in successive layers, and 

 expand as the bud enlarges, until at length they merely form 

 a cup round its base. These sheaths or bracts are large, 

 round, concave, of a firm membranaceous consistence, and 

 of a brown colour. The bud, before expansion, is depressed, 

 round, with five obscure angles, nearly a foot in diameter, 

 and of a deep dusky red. The flower, when fully expanded, 

 is in point of size, the wonder of the vegetable kingdom, its 

 breadth across from the tip of the one petal to the tip of the 

 other, being little short of three feet. The cup may be 

 estimated capable of containing twelve pints, and the weight 

 of the whole is from twelve to fifteen pounds. The inside 

 of the cup is of an intense purple, and more or less densely 

 villous, with soft flexible spines of the same colour ; towards 

 the mouth it is marked with numerous depressed spots of 

 the purest white, contrasting strongly with the purple of the 



Rafflesia Arnoldi. R. Br. 



