A rare Rafflesia hasseltii plant has been located in a rainforest in West Sumatra by a joint team of UK and Indonesian scientists. This discovery marks the first documented sighting of the species in over ten years.
The expedition was undertaken by Indonesian botanist Septian Andriki and Chris Thorogood, deputy director of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden. Their search for the rare flora involved trekking through the Indonesian rainforest for approximately one day. Andriki indicated that the search efforts for this particular species had spanned a period of 13 years prior to its recent rediscovery.