There was joy for a team of experts from Indonesia and the U.K. as they found a rare plant in a rainforest in Sumatra.

Septian Andriki, 36, a conservationist, along with Chris Thorogood, a botanist from Oxford University, and Iswandi, a ranger, found the Rafflesia hasseltii in Sumpur Kudus forest in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province on 17 November 2025.

Andriki has been exchanging information on Rafflesia hasseltii with Thorogood since 2019, as he tried to locate the flower.

On their latest trip, Andriki, Thorogood and Joko Witono, a researcher from Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) searched for the Rafflesia hasseltii again.

They located the plant after a 20-hour drive to West Sumatra and a tough three-hour hike with ranger Iswandi.

Witono stopped halfway through while the others pushed on.

“The Rafflesia had just opened one petal, and only a little bit at that. That was when I got emotional,” Andriki said.

He added that he has been looking for this plant for 13 years as Rafflessia hasseltii is one of the rarest Rafflesia plants.

Andriki expressed concerns about the future for rare plants like Rafflesia in Indonesia.

The island of Sumatra is often affected by floods and landslides due to forest destruction and deforestation.

Recent flash floods and landslides on Sumatra island have left dozens dead and missing.