Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1869-07-29
A Wonderful Flower,

A Wonderful Flower.
Come with me, sir come 4 flower
very large and beautiful = exclaimed a
Malay, who drew the attention Of Dr. Ar
mold to flower remarkable alike for its
enormous size and its anamolous structure
and habit. And the surprise of the Ma
lay was nothing compared with that of
Dr. Arnold and his companions, Sir
Stamford and Lady Rafaes, when follow
ing their native attendant, they saw
among the bushes of a jungle flower APP
parently springing out of the ground,
without stem or leaf. and measuring at
least yard in diameter The first news
of this remarkable discovery created a
great amount of curiosity in Europe, and
no papers ever read at the Linnean So
ciety can be compared, for the interest they
excited, with those in which the illus,
trious Robert Brown described this Won
der of the vegetable world. The most
striking feature in the Raflesia is its
enormous size; indeed it is the largest
and most magnificent flower in the world i.
1t is composed of five roundish leaves or
petals, each foot across, Of brickred
color, but covered with numerous irregu-
lar yellowish- white swellings. The pc
tails surround a large cup nearly a foot
wide, the margin of which bears the sta
mems and this cup is filled with fieshy
disc, the upper surface of which is every
where covered with curved projections.
like miniature cows horns. The cup,
when freed from it's contents, would hold
about twelve pints of water. The flower
weighs fifteen pounds 1t is very thick,
the petals being from one to three quar-
tiers of an inch in thickness. A flower of
such dimensions and weight, might be
expected to be treasure to the pcrfumer;
but, alas, its odor is exactly that of
tainted beef! DIR. Arnold supposed that
even the flies that swarmed over the flow
er when he discovered it were deceived by
its smell, and were depositing their eggs
in its thick disc, taking it for piece of
carron
Another cause of wonder to the little
band of explorers who discovered it was
that they could find no leaves connected
with it. 1t sprang from smell, leafless,
creeping stem, about as thick as toe fin
gers. Now, plant without leaves is like
animal without stomach for the leaves
are to the plant what the stomach is to the
animal they separate from the air the
food for the growth Of the plant. There
are, however, strange plants which are
actually lcahess; making up for this want
by using the leaves of others. Such
plants are called parasites, because they
feed on the nutritious juices of others
Thrusting their roots into the living It's
sues of other plants instead of into the
earth, they appropriate the prepared food Of
these plants, and at once apply it for their
purposes for the production Of stem, flow
er, or fruit. The gigantic Rafiesia be-
longs to this class. Without vestige of
foliage, it rises at once from the long.
slender stems of one of the wild vines Of
Sumatra-immense climbers which are
attached like cables to the largest trees of
the forest. The buds push through the
bark like little buttons, continuing to grow
until they have the aspect of large closed
cabbages, and in abon, three months after
their first appearance the flower expands.
1t remains but short time in perfection,
soon beginning to rot, leaving only the
central disc, which becomes a large.
rough fruit, filled with multitudes of small
simple seeds, = World of Wonder