Rafflesia Fig fruit

The fruit of the Rafflesia Fig cult open to reveal the pink flowers inside. Fig wasps crawl into the fruit from the ostiole opening at the bottom to pollinate these inner flowers. You can actually see the two tiny black spots at lower part of the fruit in this photo which are the fig wasps that got stuck and died without making into the fruit. This fig is a montane species of root climbing epiphyte, which climbs up a host tree and fruits only when it is high enough. This one was fruiting about 7m high on the host tree.

Since this species have no common name yet, I am calling it the Rafflesia Fig for its similar appearance and this species is also found on highlands where rafflesias are found too. Even in the rafflesia centre this fig can be seen. Borneo have over 150 wild fig species and my team (1StopBorneo Wildlife) is actively documenting the native figs and understanding its ecological role to aid our reforestation projects.