Chris Thorogood

A botanical watercolour I've just completed depicting a parasitic plant called Orobanche foetida, growing in Portugal.

Maths and biology conspired to make something beautiful: the world’s largest floating leaf (genus Victoria), spanning up to 3 m across. We decoded this enigma with mathematical modelling to show the lattice is an economy of material– the most structurally efficient way to cover a large surface area.

Many parasitic plants produce tiny seeds as light as dust: you can barely even see them. But zoom in with a powerful enough microscope, and suddenly they reveal a hidden trove of jewels.

(Thanks to Renata Piwowarczyk for the photos; microscopy by Justyna Kasińska)

Slime mould seen today, steadily engulfing everything in its path, from logs to fences. Despite lacking a brain, slime moulds can solve problems such as finding the shortest path through a maze. Their abilities have been used to inform the planning of road and rail networks.

Thank you for showing me your beautiful place in the desert last year on the expedition to Inner Mongolia, Yan Bin. I guess you might never see this, but here is my memory of it, captured in pencil x

When I return from an expedition, I like to make sense of the beauty I've seen and the people I've met through illustration. This is a pencil sketch I've just completed depicting a farmer I met in the Gobi Desert last year.

Today I saw something very special: there are just 12 populations of this exceptionally rare desert bulb (Colchicum psammophilum) and only it flowers for a short time after winter rain. To find it in bloom is miraculous.

Today, ecologist Matias Hernandez and I found THIS! A gigantic desert hyacinth (Cistanche phelypaea) like a sunbeam in the sand. To see a specimen like this in full bloom is magic💫

My Christmas gift was finding a 'brown bluebell' (Dipcadi serotinum) that looked as though it drew up its colour from the desert:

Today on a desert slope, I found frosted Christmas stars: a rare succulent (Apteranthes burchardii) that produces starbursts of blossom after it rains:

Septian (Deki) Andriki is the real hero of the expedition: every wondrous thing I've seen and posted on this adventure is thanks to him. We thank you brother x

The people of Sumatra have shown me such kindness, welcoming me into their homes, and sharing with me their incredible wisdom, one magical plant at a time. From the bottom of my heart: thank you all x

Trekking by night reveals an enchanted forest: waking animals; wild music; and a special plant (Amorphophallus manta) that glows pink by torchlight. It's like walking in a dreamworld.

🙏🏻

In the Sumatran rainforest's deepest reaches, strange plants - that scarcely resemble plants at all - blossom unseen. This rarity is Balanophora papuana. We found mounds of it rising from the forest floor like little reefs of coral.

I wondered if it was real myself when I saw it but I can promise you it is.

Flies

Thank you Pak Saikul, friends and family, for making me so welcome and for sharing your special flower with us 🙏🏻

I know I'm spamming you all with the world's largest flower this week but look at THIS! A rare glimpse inside Rafflesia arnoldi!

A rare glimpse inside the largest flower on earth, seen today in the Sumatran jungle:

Earlier on the expedition we found the most beautiful flower, and here, my friends, is the biggest: Rafflesia arnoldi seen in full bloom today in the Sumatran jungle. This is the largest flower on earth and one of the greatest wonders of the natural world.

40 cm

Thank you Daniel 😊🙏🏻

Barely at all this one

Rafflesia hasseltii: a plant seen more by tigers than people. Watching this flower open by night was the closest thing to magic:

A life-changing encounter in Sumatra: Rafflesia hasseltii grows in just a few remote, tiger-patrolled rainforests, accessible only under permit and seen by few. We trekked day and night to find it, and look what happened when we did.

😍

WE FOUND IT! We trekked day and night through tiger-patrolled Sumatran rainforests accessible only under permit for this: Rafflesia hasseltii. Few people have ever seen this flower, and we watched it open by night. Magic.

About to step off the map for a while. Wish us luck x