Rafflesia Arnoldi Not the legacy of Thomas Stamford

Rafflesia Arnoldi is not a relic of Raffles, his story begins where Dr. J.Arnold first see the Rafflesia is named Pulo Lebbar, a place reached by the expedition at that time within 2 days of the journey through Manna River.

"Now the place is in the form of the village with the same name dikecamatan Pino Kingdom," explains Almidianto, about 30 km from Kota Manna South Bengkulu, while the river Manna been since lam not used as trasnportasi groove. The process of naming the first time for this type of Rafflesia is a very interesting story today like a soap opera, a process that involves intrigue, politics, and greed.

As can not be believed in general, actually foreigners who first see the Rafflesia, not Stamford Raffles nor Dr. Joseph Arnold. "Louis Auguste Deschamps" he said. A doctor and explorer of nature comes from the French, who in the late 18th century sailed to Java. Was captured by the Dutch, but the Dutch Governor General at the time, Van Overstraten, Deschamps was not arrested and asked to do an expedition on the island of Java for three years from 1791 until 1794. Louis Auguste Deschamps then actively exploring and collecting specimens of plants in the interior Java, and then wrote an early draft of "Materials towards a flora of java". Deschamps first saw, and collect specimens, and depicts Rafflesia found on the island of Nusakambangan in 1797 or 20 years earlier than the invention of Dr. Joseph Arnold shattering it. A year later, in 1798, Deschamps returned to France with all the collection.

When approaching the English Channel, his ship was captured and all collections were seized by the British. At that time, after seeing the spoils of specimen collection, the English botanist aware that Deschamps had found the kind of very unique and never seen before, and there was some sort of secret competition among experts about who will publish the kind that's amazing. They also income whoever the person, kind of astounding that should didiskripsikan or called by the English, not Dutch, let alone France.

Raffles so, then as the Governor General of British in Bengkulu, ordered William Jack to immediately mendiskripsikanjenis found in South Bengkulu. William Jack, a medical doctor and natural explorers, yan replaced Dr. Joseph Arnold. Articles William Jack have named the sebakai R. titan, and was sent to London in April 1820. Unfortunately the article of William Jack mysteriously not immediately published. Until then Robert Brown read-shattering discovery before members of the Linnean Society on June 30, 1820. Articles William Jack finally published in August 1820.