Flower blooms in one of world’s rarest trees, flower was never seen before

[FfFfFfFF 58,120]

As far as the plant scientists at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis know, the tiny purple-and-white flower that recently grew in their greenhouse has never before been seen.

Justin Lee, a senior horticulturist at the garden, was checking on a group of Karomia gigas tree saplings in a greenhouse when he spotted the flower. The tree, related to mint and originally from Africa, is one of the world’s most critically endangered tree species.

The one-inch-long flower had a halo of light purple petals that sloped downward while a cluster of four white, pollen-bearing stamens poke out. “It’s a bit odd for a mint flower. It looks flipped inside out,” says Lee. 

The tree is so rare, it doesn’t have a known nickname in English, Swahili, or the local languages around the forest reserves it's found in. Of the more than 60,000 tree species known to exist, the Karomia gigas is among the closest to extinction and one of the most endangered in Africa.

“To the best of our knowledge, there certainly is no record of the flowers in the scientific literature,'' says Gereau.

And now that the tree has produced a flower, its conservators are confident they can keep it from disappearing. “We can make sure the species doesn’t go extinct.”

In the coming weeks, more Karomia gigas flowers are expected to grow at the greenhouse.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/never-before-seen-flower-blooms-on-rare-karomia-gigas-tree

[Wet Fire 8,366]

Just a sign that things will find a way to be better in this world no matter how fvcked up the situation is 

[Kadikaado 4,302]

OMG! That's so lovely. I hope Karomia gigas is successfully reproduced.

[Economy 52,854]

Its beautiful

[JoanneMonster 9,074]

well don't touch it the last thing we need is a killer plant to invade the world and cause a health crisis