Rafflesia Forest Reserve Explained

Rafflesia Forest Reserve
Iucn Category:Ia
Map:Borneo
Label:Rafflesia Forest Reserve
Label Position:right
Location:Sabah, Malaysia
Established:1984

The Rafflesia Forest Reserve is a Virgin Jungle Reserve (VJR) that covers an area of in Tambunan District of Sabah, Malaysia. The reserve was first established in 1967 as part of the Crocker Range Forest Reserve (now Crocker Range National Park). In 1984, it was made a separate reserve by the Sabah Forestry Department to protect the area's Rafflesia flowers.

The Rafflesia Information Centre is located along the road from Kota Kinabalu to Tambunan. Several sites with wild specimens of the parasitic flowering plant Rafflesia pricei are reachable via hiking trails from the centre.

Flora

Rafflesia Forest Reserve is home to Rafflesia pricei and its host plant Tetrastigma leucostaphylum. The reserve is also home to montane forest tree species such as Shorea platyclados, Agathis kinabaluensis, Lithocarpus lucidus, Palaquium gutta, Shorea smithiana, Prainea limpato and Quercus kinabaluensis. Kerangas forest tree species in the reserve include Schima wallichii and Elaeocarpus stipularis.

Fauna

Rafflesia Forest Reserve is home to a number of insect species endemic to Borneo, including Lyclene mesilaulinea, Problepsis borneamagna, Spilosoma ericsoni and Utetheisa abraxoides.