Just metres away sits an extraordinary and otherworldly parasitic plant in bloom. Its scientific name is Rafflesia hasseltii.
"When I saw her start blooming, I just broke down", said Andriki, who prefers to be called Deki. "The ranger thought I was possessed".
He was part of a team of researchers that had trekked for almost a full day through the thick jungle in search of the plant after a tip-off from a local ranger.
"After 13 years, a 23-hour journey, risking tiger attacks, nearly dead phone batteries, I couldn't talk. I just cried", Deki said.
University of Oxford Botanic Garden deputy director Chris Thorogood filmed the moment and the footage quickly went viral. The plant had not been seen in the wild by human eyes in more than a decade.
There are dozens of species of Rafflesia (Family: Rafflesiaceae) – otherwise known as stinking corpse lily – in the world. Its flowers grow up to 1 metre in width and can weigh more than 6 kilograms. And Rafflesia hasseltii is one of the rarest of the species.
"Hardly anyone has seen it, and to my mind it's the most beautiful", Dr Thorogood said. "It's kind of white with these big red spots and the reverse of that on the petals – it's just crazy".
Deki, who has dedicated much of his life to conservation and finding rare flowers, started working with Dr Thorogood during the pandemic. The pair found several species of Rafflesia in 2021 while on a research expedition in the Sumatran rainforest. But the Rafflesia hasseltii eluded them.
Earlier this year, a ranger in West Sumatra sent them a photo of the plant in its early stages.
"The buds of this flower take several months, up to nine months to mature", Dr Thorogood said. "When the flower opens, it only stays open for a few days, so the chances of having this encounter are so unlikely".
The location of the plant was not only tricky to get to but was in "a place where tigers and rhinos live", Dr Thorogood said.
"I imagine more tigers have seen this flower than people", he added.
Deki and Dr Thorogood obtained a special permit to search the area and then set out with ranger Iswandi into the dangerous rainforest. They found the plant 23 hours later, but it was not yet in bloom.
"I felt so down, we'd travelled so far and so long", Deki said.
Night had almost fallen and Iswandi warned them that the area was a known Sumatran tiger habitat. But Deki did not want to give up after coming all that way.
"I came closer to the flower and I said, 'We need an hour here to wait'", he said.
And so they did – wary of possible animal attacks, but hopeful of capturing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
It was not long before the plant began blooming under the moonlight.
"It's beyond compare", Dr Thorogood said. "We sat there and watched the flower open in front of our very eyes. It was just an absolutely magical experience and one that will remain living in my memory for the rest of my life".
Deki likened the experience to the birth of his child.
"The life cycle of the Rafflesia is nine months long, like a baby in the womb", he said.
Deki hopes that future generations will be able to enjoy the Sumatran rainforest as much as he does.
"I hope one day our children and grandchildren can come and see this forest and its diversity", he said. "For this we need to promote sustainable ecotourism".
Indonesia is the world's largest producer of palm oil and the expansion of plantations in Sumatra has been threatening rainforests.
"The worst thing would be if they turn this forest into a palm oil plantation", Deki said.
Dr Thorogood said it was thanks to the work of people like Deki and Iswandi that people understood more about the Sumatran rainforests, which increased the drive to conserve them.
"Thanks to these custodians and stewards of their biodiversity, there is hope", Dr Thorogood said. "While there are still thriving rainforests like this one I've been in, there are people like this who want to protect them".
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