'Rafflesia' or 'padma'? Debate renewed in Indonesia over renaming of flower

In November, people on social media rejoiced for a few weeks following the rediscovery of a rare species of the Rafflesia parasitic flower in West Sumatra.

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However, the rediscovery was met by renewed debate among researchers and the public alike about academic colonialism.

The concerns hinged on whether the Rafflesia, which was named after a European colonial figure, should be renamed to better represent its Southeast Asian origin and remove its colonial legacy.

Among the world's largest flowers, the Rafflesia first entered Western scientific records in 1818 after it was spotted by a local guide working with British surgeon and naturalist Joseph Arnold in the then British colony of Bencoolen, present-day Bengkulu.

The family of the flower was later named the Rafflesia, after the Bencoolen lieutenant-governor Thomas Stamford Raffles.

The species spotted by Arnold was later named Rafflesia arnoldii after the surgeon who died not long after finding the flower. Meanwhile, the type recently discovered in West Sumatra is Rafflesia hasseltii, which was named after Dutch botanist Arend Ludolf van Hasselt.

Today, the name Rafflesia is still used by the global scientific community to describe a genus that includes at least 42 species found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.