Rare Flowers In The World And What Makes Them So

Thanks to Shakespeare It’s most common to compare the beauty of a lover to a flower. Flowers have an ethereal and fleeting beauty incomparable to anything else in the world, the exception being those in the first flush of love. But unfortunately, many rare flowers in the world have already gone extinct in the wild and only exist in some pockets, thanks to the efforts of botanists and conservationists and might be available either in select places in the wild or in botanical gardens.

1. Juliet Rose

The Juliet Rose is not only considered to be one of the rarest flowers in the world, but it’s also the rarest rose in the world because it took 15 years for rose breeder David Austin to cultivate the flower in England. Additionally, it cost him a whopping $4.3 million to do so. A type of tea rose, the Juliet Rose has peach and apricot coloured petals. In full bloom, they open to reveal smaller blooms at the heart.

2. Ghost Orchid

Named after the shape of its petals, the Ghost Orchid is listed as one of the rare flowers of the world because it requires high temperatures and high humidity to grow, making it almost impossible to cultivate outside its natural habitat.

The plant has no leaves, does not depend on photosynthesis, and does not manufacture its own food. It has to be linked with another plant to get sufficient energy. The stem and flowers appear green in colour with whitish petals.

Ghost Orchids are found in Cuba, Florida and the Bahamas, and bloom only for three weeks between April and August. Even if you get close enough to the flower, you may not be able to spot a Ghost Orchid. The fact that most of its natural habitat is getting destroyed makes the Ghost Orchid even rarer.

3. Fire Lily

While the Fire Lily, also known as the Flame Lily, is not that rare a flower, it’s quickly becoming endangered in some countries. The Fire Lily is a distinct trumpet-shaped flower with red and orange-yellow coloured petals, making it look like flames.

These flowers are native to Asia and tropical parts of Africa. It’s now rare in Sri Lanka and close to extinction in Odisha, making it a very rare flower in India. It’s also considered an invasive species in countries like Australia, Cook Islands, and French Polynesia. While these flowers are found in the wild, they are also known to pop up in people’s yards.

4. Chocolate Cosmos

The Chocolate Cosmos has earned its place on the list of rare flowers of the world as it has been extinct in the wild for years. As one of the most beautiful rare flowers in the world, the Chocolate Cosmos is a rich reddish-brown in colour and gives off a rich chocolate fragrance when it blooms, hence its name. It grows to about 40 to 70 centimetres in height.

This red flower is native to Mexico, however as mentioned before, they no longer exist in the wild. The beautiful flower does not produce any seeds and needs to be grown with the help of tissue culture or root division. Technically, only clones of the original flower survive today.