''Rafflesia baletei'' is a

parasitic plant A parasitic plant is a plant that derives some or all of its nutritional requirements from another living plant. They make up about 1% of angiosperms and are found in almost every biome. All parasitic plants develop a specialized organ called the ...

species of the genus ''

Rafflesia ''Rafflesia'' () is a genus of parasitic flowering plants in the family Rafflesiaceae. The species have enormous flowers, the buds rising from the ground or directly from the lower stems of their host plants; one species has the largest flowers i ...

''. It is endemic to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The species was first collected in 1991 by Bicolano

mammalogist In zoology, mammalogy is the study of mammals – a class of vertebrates with characteristics such as homeothermic metabolism, fur, four-chambered hearts, and complex nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part ...

Danilo S. Balete on

Mount Isarog Mount Isarog is an active stratovolcano located in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines, on the island of Luzon. The mountain has active fumaroles and hot springs. It has an elevation of above mean sea level. The broad isthmus between Lago ...

and was initially thought to be '' Rafflesia manillana''. It was only in 2006 that

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

scientists confirmed the identity of this new species, naming it in Balete's honour. After the establishment of the identity of this species, a new population was rediscovered on

and

Mount Iriga Mount Iriga, also known as Mount Asog, is an active stratovolcano in the province of Camarines Sur, in the Philippines. It is a stratovolcano about a kilometer from Lake Buhi. It rises with a base diameter of . It has a large crater formed ...

. See this citation for a review of Philippine ''Rafflesia''.

References

External links

Parasitic Plant Connection: ''Rafflesia baletei'' page
baletei Parasitic plants Endemic flora of the Philippines Flora of Luzon Taxa named by Julie F. Barcelona Plants described in 2006 {{Malpighiales-stub