Some of the plants live on insects while some bloom into huge flowers and smell like carcass. The world is filled with strange and weird plants. Though they are found through out the world, a large population of weird plants are found in Madagascar. But these plants are now finding their way into gardens too. Read on to know more.
Why rare plants for your garden?
Most rare plants in the world that you can keep in your home garden
Gardening is considered as one of the most constructive and creative hobbies. There are many tips for beginners to help them get a beautiful looking garden. Preparing the soil, sowing the seed, nurturing and taking care of the seedling to help it grow into a plant is really a creative job. Those who love gardening know that all plants do not require the same water, soil, manure, oxygen and nutrients from the soil in equal proportions.
Not only that, all plants and flowers are also not very easily available. The aroma, shape and size of the flowers and the fruits, the height, pattern of growth, foliage, etc. could also be separated distinctly from the ones commonly found. Moreover, these rare plants do not grow everywhere as their climatic needs are also shapely different. Here is a list of 17 most rare plants in the world.
1. Encephalartos woodii
The first name that goes on the list of rare plants in the world is Encephalartos woodii. Initially, it was spotted growing at the wild forests of Ngoya in Zululand, in South Africa in 1895. It was conserved and now this plant is restricted to the botanical garden only where it was transported from Zululand and planted on the soil bed of the calibrated Temperate House together with other South African plants. It is a cycad variety and has separate male and female plants. Unfortunately, no female plants were found ever since, which indicates that the propagation will be extremely limitedd The male cones are orange yellow in color.
2. Amorphophallus titanum (Titan Arum)
You can find this rare plant of the world only in Huntington. You will find this plant growing in the botanical garden of the area, known as Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science. The only time botanists can study or research more about this plant is when it blooms on rare occations. The characteristic bloom features a half open giant flower with a red, thick central wick. The internal part of the flower is red with greenish yellow outer surface.
3. Rafflesia arnoldii
Apart from being the world’s rarest plant, it is also one of the largest flowers in the world. The Rafflesia arnoldii does not have a beautiful aromatic fragrance; instead, its odor is very similar to decaying flesh. Which is why, it also goes by the name- Corpse flower. You can find this flower in the dense rain-forests of Sumatra, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bengkulu. The characteristics of this parasite plant are that it lives on Tetrastigms vine, has large leaves, stems and roots. Insects are attracted to the odor of the flower, which also helps in pollination.
4. Erysimum menziesii
If you happen to be in the sandy beach areas of California, Humboldt, Mendocino and Monterey, then you may get a chance to see this rare wall flower. The Erysimum menziesii do not grow more than 15 centimeters. The plant consist of long and straight leaves with thick, hairy and lobed stems. This rare plant has thick cluster of yellow flowers with round petals grow on tops of each of the stems. The flowers shed to give way to the long, sticky fruits.
5. Manzanita
Manzanita is a common name for many varieties of evergreen shrubs or small trees that fall under the genus of Arctostaphylos. You can find this rare plant in North America, mainly in the areas of British Columbia, Washington and California, Mexico, etc. The twisted branches and barks of these vegetation are smooth. Another beautiful feature of this plant is that the barcks or branches are either orange or red in color. From ground hugging ones to six meter tall trees, these shrubs come in different heights. Some of these varieties are used for culinary while others form parts of landscape gardening.
6. Pennantia baylisiana
The Pennantia baylisiana is another name of that appears in the list of most rare plants in the world and has also reserved a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. Only one tree survives at Three Kings Islands off the New Zealand coast. There is a lot of controversial findings pertaining to it’s gender. While some botanists feel that this is a female species, some state otherwise. In the efforts of multiplying this plant, botanists have carefully sowed seeds in the ground. However, the biggest challenge is that it takes close to ten years to grow into a mature plant provided it gets past the unfavorable climate and ravages of time.
7. Snowdonia hawkweed (Hieracium snowdoniense)
As the name suggests, you can find the Snowdonia hawkweed at the valley of Snowdonia, in Wales, United Kingdom. This rare plant bears flowers which are extremely simple, having velvety rims with yellow petals. Until a few years back; these plants stopped producing flowers, which made the botanists think that it is getting extinct. In 2002, the flowers started blossoming again breaking the misconception of the botanists.
8. Hackelia venusta
AKA Showy stickseed or Lesser showy stickseed it is part of the list of rare plants in the world for various reasons. You can find the Hackelia venusta in a small topography at the Chelan Country of United States. It grows up to 20 to 40 feet and is a perennial shrub, having several leaves. The flowers of this rare plant blossoms in the months of April and May. During this time, the flowers appear in clusters. They also features white or tinted blue tone with five, rounded leaves and short, tubular stem. The fruits are tiny and have hair all over that assist them to disperse from the mother plant. Sandy rocky soil with extreme sun is the basic requirement of this plant.
9. Nepenthes tenax
The next name that falls under the list of rare plants in the world is Nepenthes tenax. It has a close resemblance with the pitcher plant. The Nepenthes tenax grows up to a height of 100 cms with the pitcher shaped flower on the top, having a height of 15 cms. This plant belongs to the biological family of Nepenthaceae and bears a biological name, Nepenthes tenax.
10. Welwitschia
This is a gymnosperm plant which is of African variety. Friedrich Welwitsch an Australian botanist discovered this plant in 1859. It is considered as a living fossil apart from being one of the rare plants in the world . It features a woody, thick, short and stout trunk . The root system is simple, comprising of a taproot at the bottom with a few tapered branching from it. The two leaves grow after the cotyledons have grown to a height of 25 to 35 mm after germination. These are the only leaves of this plant. These leaves grow till 2 to 4 m after which they split and eventually shred out. It is a diecious plant, featuring separate male and female plants. It survives for 1000 to 2000 years and has an extremely slow growth rare.
11. Selaginella lepidophylla
It is a desert species and native to Chihuahuan desert. It is called the resurrection plant as during dry weather it can survive almost complete dessication. The stems of this plant curl up into tight balls and uncurl when exposed to moisture. It is sold as a novelty in its dry state (brown bare roots), which turns green after wetting. It has medicinal properties too and hence used for treating common cold and sore throat.
12. Dracaena cinnabari
This famous plant from the Socotra island has a very strange appearance. It looks like an upturned densely packed crown in the shape of an upside down umbrella. This evergreen plant is also known as dragons blood as it produces dark red resin. The resin is used as a dye and has medicinal properties.
13. Mimosa pudica
This perennial herb is also known as sensitive plant or the touch me not as its leaves are very sensitive. The leaves respond to various stimulus like touch, warmth, blow or even a shake by closing or folding inwards. It reopens after few minutes. Such movements are called seismonastic movements which result from movement of water in and out of the cell. Though it is a native to South and Central America, it is now pan-tropical.
14. Desmodium gyrans
This delicate plant is native to Asia and grows as a shrub. They have to be watered regularly and kept away from direct sunlight. The leaflets of this plant exhibit rotational movement around its axis in response to even the slightest stimuli like touch, warmth, etc. and droop down at night.
15. Dionaea muscipula
It is a carnivorous plant and the end portion of each leaf forms a structure that acts like a trap. When an insect or an arachnid crawls on the leaf trap lined with hair, it sends a stimulus which leads to closure of the leaf. The insects are digested with the help of the catalytic enzymes secreted by the plant and the nutrients are absorbed.
16. Drosera
Drosera, also known as sundew, belong to the largest genera of carnivorous plants. They produce sticky mucilaginous substances on the leaf that attract and trap insects. The insects are then digested and the nutrients from them are absorbed to compensate for the less nutritious soil they grow in.
17. Rat eating plant
There are about 120 pitcher plant species and this is the largest carnivorous pitcher plant. It was first found in Philippines. These shrubs produce acid like enzymes that are capable of dissolving not just insects but rats too.
Final Words
Plants are one of the wonderful creations of nature. They differ widely and numerous species are present. Our gardens are always full of flowering and fruiting plants.There is nothing unusual about them. If you think plants are boring, then here are some strange or weird plants that are living proofs to prove you wrong. By growing (or even trying to grow) any of these weird off-beat plants in your garden is a challenge. Nevertheless, they give you a challenge that’s well worth your effort. Just don’t give up.
