Topic:
Plants
Specified Topic: Monster Flower
Specified Topic: Monster Flower
Basic
Outline:
I. Introduction
A.
Introductory Statement(s):
1. Two of the most common misconceptions about
flowers are that they emit a fragrant odor and are meant to be aesthetic from a
small seedling to the point when they are fully grown.
2.
While part of this is true, the Monster Flower, as it is called, amazes some scientists’
world-wide
3.
In fact, as late as 2007 we were able to fully recognize the family of this
strange species.
4.
In addition, scientists have not yet discovered the cause of one of its most
prominent characteristics.
B.
Thesis: The Monster Flower has become known as one of the largest flowers which
grow in select rainforests. Its unique
properties continue to be a source of interest in the field of biological
research.
C.
Main Ideas:
1. Characteristics
2. Habitat
3. Reproduction & Food
II. Characteristics
A.
The Monster Flower, otherwise known as Rafflesia Arnoldii, is in the family Euphorbiaceae and of the order
Malpighiales.
1. This is the type of plant that
heavily relies on another host plant to survive
B.
One of the many things that are unique about this plant is that it contains no
leaves, roots, stems, or anything that uses the process of photosynthesis. However, some species have scales which
reportedly are vestigial structures that once resembled leaves.
C.
When the plant is fully grown, it looks like a broad, corpulent (plump)
organism with five large petals.
1.
The overall weight of this plant averages to be about 24 pounds (11 kg) which
is certainly if not heavier than all flowers.
2. Its diameter extends to about 1 meter or near 1
yard.
D.
This particular flower comes in two colors, reddish-brown or purplish-brown,
and can appear as a mix of the two colors which the reproductive structures in
a cup-shaped area in the center of the plant.
E.
It produces a smooth, berry fruit that contains thousands of small, tacky seeds
which are believed to be eaten by rodents that eat fruit.
III. Natural Habitat
A.
One of the main hosts that this monster favors is the roots of the Tetrastigma
species which are found in Malaysia in mountainous areas with a lot of
vegetation.
B.
These species also habit the Malay Archipelago and the low-lying tropical areas
of Indonesia
C.
Other places that these sometimes happen to grow in include areas generally in
South-East Asia, Borneo, Sumatra, and last but not least, the Philippines.
IV. Reproduction & Food
A.
As mentioned earlier, this plant has to rely on a host plant due to its lack of
sufficient vegetative organs. This lack
is what makes the plant survive as a system of slender cellular filaments
attached to the host.
B.
Similar to some stores, the flowers are open five to seven days and produce a
foul smell which serves its purpose of attracting flies that eat rotting
meat. This is reportedly believed to be
one of the ways that this plant pollinates.
C.
When the time is ripe to reproduce, this monster forms a bump which eventually
grows into a structure that closely resembles a brown cabbage. This “brown-cabbage” is supposed to come out
of the bark or strong stem of the host plant.
1. The cabbage structure is patient enough to wait
for one year before revealing its true color of being the Monster Flower that
it is.
V. Conclusion
A.
Thesis Restatement: The Giant Rafflesia Flower is known for its unusual and exaggerated
characteristics which continue to inspire plant researchers world-wide.
B.
Brief Restatement Evidence and Circumstantial Information:
1.
The Monster Flower is the largest of all the flowers on the planet
2.
This species lives on a host plant and also attracts flies which are believed
to be part of the pollination process
3.
This plant inhabits the South-Eastern and some lower south-western parts of
Asia including but not limited to the Philippines.
4.
(Addl.) Its delicate nature of growth, bloom time, and unique habitat are a
source of vulnerability to early death by unlawful harvesting, accidental
damages, or loss of internal habitat.
Due to these factors, the conservation of these special species becomes
a tricky task to accomplish.
Author’s
Note:
Are you still stuck with a few ideas to write your report or essay on? Would you like to find more information on your project?
Check out some of the works cited sources below for more
information. By the way, there are some
bits of information in my research that were not included in the outline
because they did not fit into a particular category or that some detail were
intentionally omitted while crafting this outline. Feel free to use those if they fit in your
essay; just be sure to cite the source.
Best wishes for your report or essay.
Brainstorm:
-Habitat?
-Characteristics?
-How it survives?
-Adaptation?
-Evolution?
-Commercial/Natural Uses?
Research:
+ “plant family in the Malpighiales
order, notable for being strictly parasitic upon the roots or stems of other
plants” (How it Survives/Characteristic) - Encyclopedia Brittanica
+ “vegetative organs of most are so
reduced and modified that the plant body exists only as a network of threadlike
cellular strands living almost wholly within the tissues of the host plant” (How
it Survives/Food) - Encyclopedia Brittanica
+ “no green photosynthetic tissues,
leaves, roots, or stems […] although vestiges of leaves exist in some species
as scales” (Characteristic) - Encyclopedia Brittanica
+ “monster flower (Rafflesia arnoldii),
with the largest known flower” (Characteristic) - Encyclopedia Brittanica
+ “parasitic upon the roots of
Tetrastigma species, large vines of the grape family (Vitaceae) found in the
forested mountains of Malaysia” (Habitat) - Encyclopedia Brittanica
+ “appears above ground as a thick,
fleshy, five-lobed structure weighing up to 11 kg (24 pounds) and measuring
almost one metre (about one yard) across” (Characteristic) - Encyclopedia
Brittanica
+ “open five to seven days, emitting a
fetid odour that attracts carrion-feeding flies, which are believed to be the
pollinating agents” (Food) - Encyclopedia Brittanica
+ “colour is reddish or purplish brown,
sometimes in a mottled pattern, with the sex organs in a central cup” (Characteristic)
- Encyclopedia Brittanica
+ “fruit is a berry containing sticky
seeds thought to be disseminated by fruit-eating rodents” (Characteristic) -
Encyclopedia Brittanica
+ “native to the Malay Archipelago and Indonesia, and grow on
the tropical forest floor” (Habitat) - Encarta
+ “blossom of one species, the corpse lily, is recognized as
the largest flower in the world. It grows up to 91 cm (36 in) in width, with
petals 3 cm (1 in) thick and 46 cm (18 in) long, and weighs as much as 7 kg (15
lb)” (Characteristic) - Encarta
+ “DNA material published in 2007 placed rafflesia in the
Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family of flowering plants […] the Euphorbiaceae,
which include the rubber tree, castor beans, cassava, and poinsettias, are
characterized by having very tiny flowers” (Characteristic) -
Encarta
+ “to reproduce, the growths form a
lump, which develop into something that looks like a brown cabbage […] bursts
through the host plants’ bark, where it waits for around a year before
unfurling into the familiar sight of a monstrous red-brown flower” (Reproduction)
- Nature
+ “Rafflesia produces round fruits roughly
fifteen diameters in length filled with smooth flesh and literally thousands
tiny hard-coated seeds […] Squirrels and tree shrews seem to take a liking to
these fruits, hence becoming their distributors” (Reproduction) - Nature
+ “a parasitic life, heavily specialized
biological requirements, a long time to bloom, inherent rareness, make the
rafflesia very vulnerable to [sic] conservation efforts. Increasing habitat
loss, illegal harvesting, or simply unintentional trampling can only make it
harder.” (Conservation) - Nature
+ “found only in South-East Asia, specifically the
Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra and in the Philippines” (Habitat) - Nature
Works
Cited:
"Rafflesiaceae." Encyclopædia
Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2012.
"Rafflesia." Nature: Let's Discover.
Web. 19 Apr. 2012. http://www.itsnature.org/plant_life/flowers-plants/rafflesia/
"Rafflesia." Microsoft®
Student 2008 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2007.
Images Cited:
Arnold, Peter. Giant Rafflesia Flower. Photograph.
Encarta. Print.
Rafflesia. Photograph. Unique Interesting. 30 Jan.
2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. http://uniqueinterestingfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/rafflesia.jpg
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