REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BENGKULU -- A team of researchers from the Indonesian Science Institute (LIPI) is identifying Rhododendron or Azalea flowers in Mount Patah, located in the Raja Mandara protected forest, Kaur district, Bengkulu province.

An ecology and plant conservation researcher, Imawan Hidayat, said here on Wednesday that these flowering plants were supposedly endemic to Mount Patah because Rhododendron generally grows at 1,000 meters above sea level.

"But the red-flowering Rhododendron we found in Mount Patah is growing at 800 meters above sea level. This is quite unique," Imawan said.

Rhododendron, locally called Kadudampit, is a genus of flowering plants that grow at a height of 1,000 meters above sea level.

Imawan said some species of Rhododendron that have been identified in Indonesia included Rhododendron album, which is endemic to West Java and Central Java; Rhododendron javanicum, endemic to Java and Bali; and Rhododendron loerzingii, endemic to Mount Merapi, Mount Merbabu and Mount Sumbing, Central Java.

The others are Rhododendron wilheminae, found only on Mount Salak, West Java; Rhododendron radians and Rhododendron seranicum, both endemic to Central Sulawesi; and Rhododendron rhodopus, endemic to South Sulawesi.

Besides Rhododendron, the LIPI expedition on Mount Patah also found a unique species of Nepenthes (tropical pitcher plants or monkey cups) and gathered over 100 species of flowers.

The flora research in Mount Patah, according to him, is being carried out because of its pristine ecosystem.

"We hope this study can find some native plant species," he said.

The team has managed to gather 220 plant collections, comprising over 100 species of plants.

The plants will be inventoried, cultivated and further studied so that the initiative proves beneficial to the people, Imawan said.

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