We did a little research and found 5 very rare plant species worldwide. Of course there are many others, but these 5 have a very special story or a very special feature. Be curious, these 5 rare plant species will also inspire you.
Cyanea heluensis- the rarest plant in the world
This plant has really earned this first place, because there is only one specimen of this plant that has been discovered so far. It grows on the Hawaiian island of Maui and so far no second specimen has been discovered. This is not surprising, since there are only 80 subspecies of this plant family, all of which are only found in Hawaii. Samples of this plant were taken in order to propagate it, i.e. to create clones by cuttings and to be able to study it. Factors that may have led to the extinction of the other specimens include Hawaii's isolated location, introduced domestic animals and pests such as snails, and the extinction and displacement of the animals responsible for pollination and seed dispersal. If the propagation of the plant is successful and the offshoots grow, then this rare plant could soon be admired in some botanical gardens.
Titan Arum - a flower of the extra class
The Titan Arum not only impresses with its size of up to 3.5 meters, because it is also known under the synonym corpse flower. Its blossom gives off an almost unbearable smell of carrion. This flower is pollinated by flies and carrion beetles. Luckily for the smeller and unlucky for the plant, it only blooms once every 10 years, which has made the Titan Arum very rare in Indonesia, its country of origin. Another special feature of the plant is that it only has one large leaf.
Rhizanthella gardneri- Western underground orchid
Rhizanthella gardneri is a rootless, leafless, underground plant. It does not carry out photosynthesis and accordingly does not form any chlorophyll for the generation of energy from light. Another characteristic of the Western underground orchid is that when injured, it smells distinctly of formalin.
Medusagyne oppositifolia jellyfish tree
This rare tree, the jellyfish tree, has a name that is hard to pronounce. It is the only species of the Medusagyne family and therefore very, very rare. The name comes from the fact that the fruits of the tree resemble the bodies of jellyfish. The jellyfish tree only occurs in the Seychelles and was thought to be extinct there, but was rediscovered in 1970. The tree is not particularly large, it reaches a maximum height of around 10 meters, but does not form a thick trunk, but rather has a very slender growth overall.
Encephalartos woodii- a rare cycad
This cycad originally comes from the KwaZulu Natal region in South Africa and is extinct there in the wild. All specimens that now exist are clones of one and the same plant, so the survival of the species is anything but certain, because a clone cannot develop further and cloning a clone leads to serious genetic errors in the long term. There were only 4 specimens of this species at the time of discovery, they were all taken from the wild. One of the tribes ended up in the botanical garden in Durban, one in the National Botanical Garden in Ireland, one was supposed to end up in a botanical garden in Guinea, but did not survive the journey. The last specimen left in the wild was sent to Pretoria in 1916 and finally died out completely in 1964. Since the last remaining specimens are male, it caused a sensation when one of the cycads produced a male seed in 2004. There are now several offshoots in various botanical gardens worldwide, but it is very difficult to ensure that the offshoots grow. If no female specimen is found, which is very likely, then sooner or later this cycad will die out completely, because natural reproduction of the cycad is only possible sexually.
understand plants
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