Top 15 Rarest Flowers In The World

Rosemary February 02, 2023 | 17:52

These flowers are so rare that few people in the world have known about them. Check out Top 15 Rarest Flowers In The World.

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Top 15 Rarest Flowers In The World. Photo KnowInsiders

Flowers are the most wonderful gifts of nature. There are more than 270,000 types of flowers in the world. Some flowers only bloom in specific seasons or even after decades. Many flowers come from remote parts of the world and are even still unexplored. Below is a list of the most beautiful and rarest flowers in the world.

What is a rare flower?

Rare flowers can be those that only bloom under specific conditions or found at specific destinations under the right ecological conditions or are only rarely found growing in the wild.

Top 15 Rarest Flowers In The World

1. King Protea (Protea cynaroides)

King Protea

King Protea is a species of Proteaceae. The scientific name is Protea Cynaroides, which is famous for the name King Protea, which is also the national flower of the Republic of South Africa. The first seeds of Protea Cynaroides were brought from South Africa to London (England) in 1774.

After being planted and carefully preserved, the flower bloomed exactly 52 years later - in 1826. But then, people had not yet invented a camera to store flower shapes, so the South African Royal Flower naturally become a legend that exists in the middle of everyday life. During the next nearly 2 centuries, many generations of British botanists have always focused on taking care of the Protea Cynaroides flower, little by little, just to keep the hope that the flower... will bloom.

The first King Protea has a diameter of 23cm, then 4 other flowers also bloomed in turn in the same cycle lasting 160 years.

2. Neelakurinji flower

Neelakurinji is a symbol of romance

It blooms once in every 12 years.

Neelakurinji means blue flower and scientifically stands for Strobilanthes Kunthianus. This flower has around 250 varieties out of which 46 can be found in Munnar. Ranging from purple to delicate shades of blue, the en masse blooming of Neelakurinji can be seen only in Munnar. With the shorter variations at the foothills and the longer variations at the hilltops, Neelakurinji has a special significance for the Pulaya tribe that calculate their age with the blooming cycle of the flower as a yardstick.

3. Rafflesia arnoldii

Rafflesia arnoldii. Photo Havard magazine

Rafflesia arnoldii is the largest flower in the world, growing in the rainforest on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumaitra; Malaysia. When it first blooms, the shape of this flower tree is very strange, having no roots, no stem and no leaves, clearly nothing worthy of being called a tree. Since it is just a flower, a giant flower should be honored as the king flower.

The reason people call this flower is the king flower because the size of this flower is very large, more than other flowers. A king flower in full bloom can be up to 1.4m in diameter and weigh up to 50kg.

4. Middlemist Red

Middlemist Red camellia has been flowering for more than two centuries. Photo insteading

The Middlemist Red camellia has been flowering for more than two centuries within a couple of miles of its first home outside China. There are believed to be only two left in the world – the one lighting up the Duke of Devonshire's conservatory at Chiswick, west London, and another in Waitangi, New Zealand.

The plant was collected in China in 1804 by John Middlemist, from Shepherd's Bush, west London, who gave it to Kew Gardens. It has vanished from there, but by 1823 a descendant was nearby, in the camellia collection which the sixth Duke of Devonshire housed in the 300ft-long (91-metre) conservatory he added to his great-grandfather's Palladian villa, Chiswick House.

5. Claw-shaped flowers (Strongylodon macrobotrys)

Claw-shaped flowers

Claw-shaped flower is a rare flower belonging to the bean family. They can only be found in the rainforests of the Philippines. The flowers can grow up to 3 m. The color of this flower is also extremely beautiful, from sky blue to bright green.

Occasionally, claw-shaped flower is pollinated by bats, which shows us a wonderful sight because of their ability to glow at night.

6. Koki'o flower

Koki'o

This is an extremely rare flower that can only be found in Hawaii. The Koki'o flower was discovered in 1860, but it proved too difficult to preserve.

In 1950, scientists thought this flower was extinct. Fortunately, after that, a branch of the Koki'o flower was saved and we were able to see it again. It was discovered in 1860, when it only had 3 species. By 1950, the last Kokai tree (of the three found) had died and the flower was considered extinct.

However, 20 years later, in 1970, another species was found, unfortunately it was destroyed in a fire in 1978. Fortunately, biologists were able to save a tree branch and propagated into 23 plants. The plant grows 10-11 meters tall and has hundreds of flowers.

7. Franklinia alatamaha

Franklinia alatamaha. Photo in defense of plants

Known as the Franklin tree, it has fragrant, cup-shaped, white petals. It was discovered by botanists from Philadelphia John and William Bartram. However, they have been extinct since the 1800s. Until recently, scientists have only found a few species and according to statistics, there are currently only 3 plants in bloom.

Franklinia alatamaha is a pure white flower. Flowers in bloom give off an extremely seductive fragrance. This flower was also thought to be extinct, but about 3 years later, a person saw an species and the flower was then protected.

Do you know...?

The nature of the soil it grows in, such as its acidity level, determines the colour of hydrangeas. If the soil is less acidic the flower will be pink, and the more acidic it is the bluer the flower!

8. Snowdonia Hawkweed

Snowdonia Hawkweed

Snowdonia Hawkweed is a small, yellow flower, first found on a ridge in Wales. However, after many lengthy searches, this flower could not be found since 1953 and Snowdonia Hawkweed was concluded to be extinct since then.

However, in 2002, a single Snowdonia Hawkweed was found in a remote hilly area of the Cwm Idwal National Nature Reserve. Unfortunately, to this day, this is the only Snowdonia Hawkweed found.

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9. Red Campion flowers

Red Campion flowers. Photo woodland trust

Campion flower blooms in the evening, has a light fragrance with a rather short lifespan.

Interestingly, in 1992, botanists in Gibraltar officially declared that there was no longer any remaining Campion flower and this flower was completely extinct. But two years later, in 1994, a climber on the cliffs of Gibraltar found the Campion flowers still alive in the harsh environment.

10. Kodupul flowers

Kodupul flowers. Photo senci rare species

Kadupul flowers are one of the most beautiful and rare flowers in the world. This flower is especially revered by Buddhism for spiritual reasons. In Japan, the Kadupul flower is also known as "beauty under the moonlight".

Kodupul flower can only be found in the forest in Sri Lanka. Kodupul not only famous for not only its seductive beauty with white gold highlights but also extremely ethereal scent.

11. Juliet Rose

Juliet Rose. Photo travel earth

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.

Do you know...?

Almost all of the flowers listed above are either extinct in the wild or in the process of being driven to extinction. By letting such beautiful and unique flowers die, we are not only depriving the future generation of witnessing their beauty and mystique, but we are also doing irreparable damage to the ecology and environment. While a few may be protected by law, most aren’t. However, not all hope is lost. By promoting awareness about these rare and beautiful flowers, we can put in care and work towards saving them from further and more permanent extinction.

12. Ghost Orchid

Ghost Orchid. Photo ourendangeredworld

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.

The ghost flower is called that because it contains no chlorophyll, the pigment which makes plants green. As such, it is ghostly white.

13. Chocolate Cosmos

Photo travel earth

Chocolate Cosmos has its name because of their chocolate-like aroma. This flower is endemic to Mexico, red or dark brown, blooming in late summer.

There is only one clone of this type that survives today, and propagation of the flower must be done through a laboratory or tissue culture method. The growing areas of Chocolate Cosmos in Mexico are also protected by law.

14. Hawaiian Hibiscus

Chocolate Cosmos. Photo ourendangeredworld

While hibiscus plants are generally uncommon, these hibiscus blossoms can only be found on the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Moloka’i. These blooming plants are exclusively found in moist mountain forest environments.

Hawaiian hibiscus, also known as koki’o, comes in various varieties. These plants produce huge, attractive blooms, some of which are fragrant. The vast tropical flowers are pink, yellow, orange, and purple.

15. Lily of the Valley

Lily of the Valley. Photo house beautiful

Lilies of the Valley, sometimes known as flame lilies, or fire lilies, are not among the Earth’s rarest plants, but they are becoming endangered in some areas.

The family Colchicaceae has around 12 species that thrive in numerous tropical nations in Asia, Africa, the Pacific, and Australia. Flame lilies have spectacular blossoms with characteristic trumpet shapes. Their common name is derived from the red and orange-yellow petals, which resemble flames.