RARE FLOWERS

YOUTAN POLUO

The flower Youtan Poluo is said to bloom every three thousand

years and is directly linked to Buddhism. However, researchers

have put in doubt the truth of this assertion. The myth goes like

this: Every three thousand years the blooming of the

Youtan Poluo marks the arrival of a future king, or a

reincarnation of the Buddha. One way or another,

Youtan Poluo is an extremely rare flower.

WHITE LOTUS

The white lotus is called the Egyptian white water lily or the tiger lotus.

The species comes from the Nymphaeaceae family and grows in

various parts of Southeast Asia and East Africa. The blossoms

float on water with the support of its lily pads. The white

lotus is also a popular pond and aquarium plant.

SNOWDONIA HAWKWEED

The Snowdonia Hawkweed, one of the rarest flowers in the world,

was rediscovered in 2002 growing on a mountain slope in Wales,

decades after botanists feared it had become extinct. The unique

flower was last reported seen in 1953, and was believed to have

been nibbled to death by sheep. Fortunately,

this wasn’t the case after all.

SHENZHEN NONGKE ORCHID

The Shenzhen Nongke Orchid is a flower that was completely

manmade and got its name from the group that conducted the

experiment. It took the researchers eight years to grow and

observe the flower. It sells for a high price (about €170,000)

not only for its rarity, cultivation, and background, but also for its

appearance. It takes four to five years for the orchid to blossom

and aside from its beauty, it is also said to have a delicate taste.

SEA POISON TREE

A sea poison tree is a large tree that grows on sandy and rocky

shores and has large leaves held in rosettes at the ends of branches.

The young leaves are a beautiful bronze with pinkish veins.

Old leaves turn yellowish. The flowers are delightful puff balls of

white stamens tipped with pink. They open at night and attract

large moths and nectar-feeding bats with their heavy scent.

ATTENBOROUGH'S PITCHER PLANT 

This rare flower that hails from the Philippines has a very

interesting background. After a two-month expeditionary

trip into the heart of the jungle on several islands, Stewart R. McPherson,

Volker B. Heinrich, and Alastair S. Robinson discovered this plant.

This discovery was considered an amazing find since the point of

the expedition was to catalogue the various indigenous pitcher

plants of the Philippines, among which the Attenborough’s Pitcher

now has a place. The flower was named after British broadcaster

and naturalist Sir David Attenborough. Because of his affinity for the

various members of the pitcher plant genus, the homage is

definitely appropriate.

RAFFLESIA ARNOLDII

This rare flower is found in the rain forests of Indonesia and is

considered to be the flower with the world’s largest bloom since it

can grow to be three feet across and weigh up to fifteen pounds.

It is a parasitic plant, with no visible leaves, roots, or stem. It attaches

itself to a host plant to obtain water and nutrients. When in bloom,

the Rafflesia emits a repulsive odour, similar to that of rotting meat.

This odour attracts insects that pollinate the plant.

NIGHT-BLOOMING CEREUS

One of the strangest plants in the desert, the night-blooming cereus,

is a member of the cactus family that resembles nothing more than

a dead bush most of the year. It is rarely seen in the wild because of

its inconspicuousness. But for one midsummer’s night each year,

its exquisitely scented flower opens as night falls, then closes

forever with the first rays of the sun.

MIDDLEMIST RED

Imported to Britain two hundred years ago from China, when flowers

were a luxury item in most of Europe, Middlemist red is one of the

rarest in the world and exists in only two known locations:

a greenhouse in the UK, and a garden in New Zealand.