Rare Samar Rafflesia rediscovered in protected forest after 15 years

TACLOBAN CITY – One of the country’s rarest flowering plants, the endangered Samar Rafflesia (Rafflesia manillana), has been documented once again inside the protected forests of Samar Island, marking its first confirmed sighting in 15 years and underscoring the island’s status as one of the Philippines’ most important biodiversity hotspots.

The rare parasitic plant was ...