Which is the Rarest Flower in the World?

There are approximately 300,000 described and known species of flowering plants in the world. They are planted almost everywhere in the world. Some of them bloom every season without fail. Others are extremely uncommon such that a person will never witness one. And one flower, is above all others, which is so unusual, that there are only two living specimens of it in the whole world.

Which is the Rarest Flower in the World?

The Middlemist Red, a form of camellia, named after botanist John Middlemist who introduced it to England in 1804, is commonly called the rarest flower in the world. Today there are only two specimens of the Red of Middlemist that are known, one in the United Kingdom, the other in New Zealand.

It was John Middlemist who first picked the rarest flower in the world in China back in 1804. This flower was brought to Kew Gardens in London. However, the flower mysteriously disappeared from there. Each of the other specimens within Britain went out of existence over the next few years leaving only a single plant in that country.

The flower is not really red. Rather, it flowers in a gorgeous deep pink colour, like a rose, and has green leaves. 

The Story of How This Flower Almost Disappeared Forever

One of the most interesting botanical stories of all time is the story of the Red of the Middlemist. It starts in China where the flower used to be fairly popular, being planted in gardens and being admirable due to its beautiful blooms.

At the beginning of the 19th century John Middlemist, a nurseryman based in London, was on a horticultural expedition in China. Here he came upon the gorgeous camellia in the picturesque gardens of Guangzhou. Middlemist was impressed by its beauty and acquired the specimens of the plant and took them to England in 1804.

Introduction of exotic plants in England at that time was part of a culture for affluent collectors and botanical enthusiasts. The Middlemist Red had soon become a prized addition to the English gardens, and was only to be obtained by those who could afford the luxury of possessing something so rare and beautiful.

In 1823, the Chiswick House and Gardens, an English stately home, was the only location in the UK where a Red of Middlemist could be seen. The way the Red of the Middlemist is wiped out of its native home in China, or how one specimen of it came into New Zealand and there lived well for two hundred years as we know, are mysteries which have no solution.

A Red by a Middlemist was seen in the conservatory of the sixth Duke of Devonshire in 1824. The conservatory of Duke was nearly ruined by The Blitz of World War II, when Germany was bombing the United Kingdom. A bomb actually hit the conservatory, but was miraculously spared when it didn’t explode. Today this conservatory has one of the two Middlemist Red plants in the world.

The other is located in Waitangi, New Zealand, in Treaty House where it was alleged to have been planted in 1833.

The A to Z Animals website mentions: “In 1824, a ‘Middlemist Red’ appeared in the conservatory of the sixth Duke of Devonshire. During The Blitz of World War II, when Germany was bombing the United Kingdom, the Duke’s conservatory was almost destroyed. The conservatory was actually hit by a bomb, but was miraculously saved when the bomb failed to explode. Today, the Duke of Devonshire’s conservatory is home to one of the two ‘Middlemist Red’ plants in the world. The other plant lives in the Treaty House in Waitangi, New Zealand.”

Why is the Middlemist's Red So Rare?

There are a number of reasons that have led to the fact that this flower has reached extinction in the last 200 years:

• Overcollection in China: A common problem was that collectors acted with the zeal of ownership and display of exotic plants without considering the ecological consequences of their behavior. The large number in its native habitat in China was perhaps the factor that led to its near extinction. 

• Restricted propagation: Middlemist Red has only two known plants hence a small genetic pool. The scarcity of the flower has hindered the process of cultivating more of the flowers and selling them everywhere.

• Certain growing conditions: The Middlemist Red should be grown in light to partial shade, well-drained and slightly acidic soil with special attention to temperature and humidity. These are some of the needs that are hard to develop outside of controlled environments, and this is one of the reasons why it has not been effectively reintroduced into the wild.

It is not only a story of a beautiful flower, the rarest one in the world. It is a tale of how fragile nature is, the effects of human error and carelessness, and the silent wonder of survival. 

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