A coffee farmer spotted two rafflesia flowers blooming in a protected area inside Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park.
Farmer Romulo Labrador said he first saw the flower in 2014, but didn’t know what it was until this week, when he accompanied representatives of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in surveying the area.
Rafflesia is known as one of the largest species of flowers in the world. It also has a reputation for being one of the most bizarre.
“I did not know what it was. I told the DENR guy not to step on the flowers then he told me that these are not ordinary flowers,” Labrador told ABS-CBN News.
Local officials confirmed that the flowers measuring 12 inches and 18 inches in diameter were indeed Rafflesias.
The local government is planning to put a fence around the flowers to protect it from curious crowds. Other farmers said they also spotted rafflesias in nearby areas.
The giant flowering plant was first found in an Indonesian rainforest in 1818 and named after Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore.
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