As a species we have always been interested in the flora around us; from the tulip craze in Holland in the 17th Century to botanical gardens of modernity. We use flowers now more than ever within social convention to celebrate, mourn, apologise or say what we can’t. But due to the changes in their habitats and various other conditions some of the most beautiful flowers are so rare they are on the verge of extinction. Here are some of the rarest blooms found in the world today.
Jade Vine – Strongylodon Macrobotrys
As you may have guessed from its name, this breath taking flower stuns all that come across it with its signature aqua marine colour. It’s indigenous to the tropical Filipino rain forests and is confusingly part of the pea and bean family and is closer related to a kidney bean than any bloom. The string of flowers can grow up to three meters in length.
Yellow and Purple Lady Slippers – Cypripedium Calceolus
Owning Lady Slipper blooms can make you the envy of flower enthusiast the world over. The only specimen still growing wild in Britain has been under constant police guard since 1917. It’s part of the orchid family and has a very strange symbiotic relationship with a certain type of fungus which helps it grow. This precise process is what hinders the plant form flourishing and keeps it on the verge of extinction.
Ghost Orchid – Epipogium Aphyllum
Like the Lady Slippers, the Ghost Orchid also needs a certain fungus to live, making it just as rare. The Ghost Orchid was in fact thought extinct for twenty years until it was rediscovered recently. This may be due to the fact that this flower can live underground for years and only blooms at the optimum moment, hence its name.
Parrot’s Beak – Lotus Berthelotii
This amazing flower has been classed as extremely rare since 1884 and is still going! It is extinct in the wild but is still being cultivated in botanist’s labs in an attempt to keep the species alive. The reason for their rarity in their indigenous land, The Canary Islands, is due to the extinction of their pollinators, the sun birds. But as flower traders are still cultivating the bright orange bloom, they are available. Search online stores such as Interflora.co.uk for the rarer species as appose to your local garden centre.
Chocolate Cosmos – Cosmos Atrosanguineus
Like the Lady Slippers, the Ghost Orchid also needs a certain fungus to live, making it just as rare. The Ghost Orchid was in
This crimson crusader has been extinct in the wild for over 100 years. Before its extinction it grew only in Mexico but the reaming plants are nothing but infertile clones of the originals. Their vanilla scent make them perfect house plants but getting your hands on one may be somewhat of a task, its generally only botanists and flower enthusiast who are still in possession of these rare beauties.
The Top 5 Rare Flowers list was compiled by UK flower guru’s Interflora
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