A world without flowers would be dull, wouldn’t it? We see flowers often, stubbornly blooming on a sidewalk or flourishing in a summer garden. But there are a wide variety of rare flowers you wouldn’t probably see except if you looked for them. And you may have to go to the literal ends of the Earth. In this article, we explore some remarkable rare flowers from all over the world.
Middlemist Red flower (Camellia)
The Middlemist Red flower looks like a big dark pink rose; it is not red as its name suggests. It has lush green foliage like roses too. Middlemist belongs to a family of flowers we call Camellia.
There are many other species and hybrids of Camellias, but most of them are yet to be identified. Perhaps because it escaped scientific study for many years after it disappeared from the Kew Gardens, it was until the 1980s that scientists were able to study the plant again.
What makes Middlemist Red rare?
The Middlemist Red is considered the rarest flower in the world. It is found in London and New Zealand, with only one specimen in each location. It used to be native to Asia but is now extinct on the continent.
Black is one of the rarest flower colors, which makes the black bat flower one of the rarest flowers in the world. People also call it the bat blossom, perhaps because the flower resembles the outline of a bat. Other names for it include cat’s whiskers and devil flower.
It has a pair of maroon-black to deep purple wing-shaped modified leaves (bracts), and each of the leaves is about 6 inches across. Long green droopy stamens (bracteoles) surround the purple flower clusters right in the middle.
What makes the black bat flower rare?
The rarest black flower is the black bat flower, and you can only find this flower in tropical Southeast Asia. If you can replicate the climate conditions of the Southeast Asian tropics, you can try to cultivate them. However, we recommend you refrain from buying bat flower plants for your garden, as they are tough to grow.
Black bat flowers (Tacca chantrieri)
Fire lily (Gloriosa superba)
This flower has many names: flame lily, glory lily, tiger claw, climbing lily, etc. Fire lilies have six petals; they are wavy and taper to a sharply pointed apex. The flower hues range from yellow to cream and scarlet red to maroon. The base of the petal is usually yellow, and the color may extend along the petal margins. However, the more significant top part of the flower is bright red.
What makes the fire lily rare?
The fire lily is a rare flower in Asia because of overharvesting for medicinal purposes. Cultivating it is fraught with problems, so people rely on the wild population. But the demand rate is higher than what is naturally sustainable. As a result, local extinction is a looming possibility.
If you enjoy hot cocoa or love chocolate, you will find the chocolate cosmos flower irresistible. It has velvety, deep brownish-red petals, much like rich liquid chocolate. The gorgeous flowers also give off a sweet chocolaty scent when they bloom in late summer. William Thompson first cultivated the chocolate cosmos in 1835, and it soon spread to many home gardens.
What makes chocolate cosmos rare?
Although it’s native to Mexico, the chocolate cosmos doesn’t grow in the wild anymore. By the 1970s, only a few rare species existed, conserved in the Kew Gardens. Of course, you could try to grow the chocolate cosmos in your garden, but it will take a lot of work.
Chocolate cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguineus)
Conclusion
There are many rare flowers in the world for different reasons. Whatever the reason, rare flowers are beautiful parts of nature that we shouldn’t allow to go extinct. If you are a lover of rare plants, you can do your part by not encouraging the illegal harvesting and trade of rare flowers. You should verify the source of whatever rare flower or rare flower product you buy. On rare occasions, you may even find one of these gems in the wild.