Our observations over 5 times in the R. zollingeriana habitat in Papring, Banyuwangi, East Java showed that the knobs of R. zollingeriana experienced a lot of damage before they managed to reach the blooming stage. Therefore, we took the initiative to install camera traps in the habitat, to find the cause of the damage and analyze the results and their consequences for the R. zollingeriana population in this habitat.
Rafflesia zollingeriana is a unique and endemic flower found in East Java. Its population is believed to be continuously declining due to various ecological and biological barriers. One of the challenges is limited fertilization because the female and male flowers bloom simultaneously, which rarely occurs. Furthermore, there is still much unknown about the reproductive biology of this species, especially regarding pollen-related information. Hence, this research aims to understand the morphology and viability of pollen. Knowing the pollen viability is crucial to determine how long the possibility of fertilization may occur.
The results of this research were presented at an international seminar in August 2023 and a scientific article is currently being prepared
