Rafflesia banaoana A.B.Tobias, Thorogood & Malabrigo, stat. nov.

1. Rafflesia banaoana (Malabrigo, Asia Life Sciences 4:139–146) A.B.Tobias, Thorogood & Malabrigo stat. nov. Figs. 2‒3 urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:60478521–2 Type: — PHILIPPINES. Luzon Island, Kalinga Province, Balbalan Municipality, Barangay Balbalasang, Sitio Cafcafulao, Banao Protected Landscape, 1361 m elev., 04 May 2009, Malabrigo 605 (holotype: LBC!) Description:— Endophytic holoparasite (devoid of leaves). Mature bud 16–18 cm diameter, pale yellowish-pink. Cupule c. 2.5 cm high, 9 cm wide. Bracts dark brown to black, in a set of 5 imbricate whorls, 5 bracts per layer, outermost smallest, c. 1.5 cm by 2.5 cm, innermost largest, c. 7.5 cm by 12 cm. Flowers (20–)30–47(–50) cm diameter when fully expanded, 10–15 cm high. Perigone tube slanted, 5–7 cm long. Perigone lobes 5, 10–15 cm by 10–16(– 20) cm, 7–11 mm thick, reddish-orange in color becoming darker with age, apex slightly recurved, broadly orbicular, basally widely separated (non-overlapping), with margins entire to irregularly repand, covered with conspicuous, large, round and elongated, embossed warts, smaller ones interspersed, white in color becoming concolorous with background with age. Diaphragm 18–22 cm diameter, 2–2.5 cm wide from aperture rim to base of perigone lobe, 6 mm thick at base, background concolorous with perigone, outer surface with shallow indentations, small ivory warts regularly scattered around the aperture rim, larger ones appearing elevated due to indentations, mainly near the base of the perigone. Diaphragm Aperture 16–20 cm diameter, rim maroon gradually becoming white towards the margin. Windows absent. Ramenta reddish orange, up to 2.5 mm, sub-filiform to tuberculate, with few lobed ramenta in the lower perigone tube, shallowly and deeply-bilobed and multi-lobed with few merged ramenta in the middle perigone tube, multi-lobed, merged and fence-like ramenta in the upper perigone tube and near the diaphragm’s aperture. Disk 8–9 cm diameter, 1.5–1.6 cm thick, reddish-orange becoming darker with age, centrally dome-shaped, rim extended horizontally, margin darker in color, hispidulous, upper surface smooth, shiny, and leathery, with conspicuous processes about 0.5–1.5 cm in height and rudimentary processes of