Flowers are one of the most charming gifts of nature. And enterprising people have long figured out how to turn it to their advantage. Whole fortunes were created and disappeared from flowers, remember at least the Dutch Tulip Rush of the 17th century - the first financial pyramid in history.
Its most expensive “brick” was the rare Semper Augustus bulb, which cost up to 4600 florins at the peak of the tulip boom. By comparison, a pig could be bought for 30 florins, and a cow for 100 florins.
Do you think the times of such "flower madness" are over and now you can't get rich by selling just one flower? Well, in our ranking of the most expensive flowers in the world, there are representatives, in comparison with which Semper Augustus was given just for nothing.
10. Gloriosa is luxurious
One flower will cost $ 10
The distribution area of gloriosa is "three A": Asia, Africa and Australia. This flower attracts attention with its bright color and special shape, reminiscent of flames.
It personifies ambition and success, therefore it is an excellent gift for those who are going to university or have just got a new job.
9. Lily of the valley
The price goes up to $ 50 depending on the type of plant
According to legend, this flower appeared when the tears of the Virgin Mary crying for Jesus touched the ground. Lily of the valley looks harmless, their delicate tiny flowers and sweet scent can fool anyone. It is one of the most popular wedding colors.
It's actually a very poisonous flower, and it even appeared in an episode of Breaking Bad. The poison is used to protect the plant from predators.
8. Gardenia
Costs from $ 20 to $ 60 depending on the size
The greenhouse flower from Italy with a deep and sexy floral scent is the perfect perennial to grace any garden or jacket lapel.
7. Black Orchid Fredclarkeara After Dark “SVO Black Pearl”
Can be purchased for $ 67 or more
One of the most beautiful and unusual orchids in the world has a honey-spicy scent. She is a complex interspecific hybrid of Clovesia, Catasetum and Mormodes. The flowers of the black orchid are in the shape of a tulip and are collected in a brush on a long peduncle. They are distinguished by a bright dark color with a reddish tint.
6. Medinilla
One plant can be purchased for $ 50-150
Medinilla flowers immediately attract attention with a pale pink color. But raising this capricious beauty is not so easy.
And the point here is not only in the high price of the plant itself, but in the fact that it does not lend itself well to reproduction and is very demanding on lighting and humidity levels. So the best way to admire medinilla is to look for it in large botanical gardens or greenhouses.
5. Jade flower (aka Strongilodon large-leaved)
Costs from $ 10 for seeds to $ 800 for a vine
This exotic plant is a typical member of the legume family. However, plain peas and beans are only distant relatives of the handsome strongylodon.Such lianas grow on loose and moist soils, under the cover of trees in the forests of Southwest Asia, Africa and Madagascar.
And during flowering, they are covered with long (up to 2 meters) thick clusters of flowers, which in shape resemble tiger's fangs. Although strongylodons can have red, purple and crimson hues, the most beautiful of them is large-fisted, with flowers of a greenish-blue hue. This color is unique, and is not found in any of the representatives of the flora. Even the pollination of a jade flower is unusual - bats and moths are engaged in it.
4. Sowing saffron
Price up to $ 2,000 per kilogram
It would be extremely inappropriate to mention all the most expensive flowers in the world without including saffron. It is valuable not for its beauty, but for the fact that an expensive spice and food coloring is obtained from dried flower stigmas. One kilogram of saffron requires 200,000 flowers.
3. Rothschild's Orchid (aka "Gold of Kinabalu")
Costs nearly $ 5,000 per plant
The Rothschild Orchid is one of the most expensive and rare flowers in the world. It was discovered in 1987 and has almost completely disappeared. It is now only available on the black market because it is an endangered species and therefore protected by law.
A rare orchid from the Kinabalu National Park on the island of Borneo in Malaysia has an interesting petal shape. However, you need to be patient to see them, because this orchid blooms once every 15 years, for a short period - from April to May.
2. Shenzhen-Nongke Orchid
Price - $ 200,000 for an orchid
The most valuable orchid in the world, and also one of the most expensive flowers you can buy. It was named after a group of Chinese researchers from Shenzhen University who spent nearly ten years creating this plant. The plant differs from its counterparts in a light green shade of petals and a bright core.
This orchid is incredibly moody and it will take five years for the first flowers to appear, but it's worth it. Back in 2005, an anonymous buyer bought Shenzhen Nongke at an auction for over $ 200,000.
1. Rose Juliet
The cost of one rose is $ 3.9 million
This bush rose is known as the £ 3 million flower. This is exactly how much (or $ 3.9 million at the current exchange rate) spent breeder David Austin to create the perfect flower. Deciding to create a flower in the form of old garden roses with a beautiful and unobtrusive scent, Austin spent 15 years developing it.
These roses were presented to the public at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2006. Visitors to the exhibition were fascinated by the perfection of the peach-apricot flowers, which, gradually blooming, changed their color to a bright pink shade with darker tones in the middle of the flower. They were also impressed by the astronomical price, which made Juliet's rose the most expensive flower in the world. However, now the cuttings of this beauty can be bought cheaper,
Priceless flowers
Kadupul
Some things in life are priceless. The Kadupul cactus is one of them. This elusive little plant, nicknamed "Queen of the Night" and "Moon Cactus", is one of the the rarest flowers in the world.
But what makes it so unique? It blooms only once a year and only in the dark, and its beauty fades before dawn. You cannot pick this flower without hurting it. The scent of the flower is called a midnight miracle and is believed to have soothing properties. Only few people in the world were lucky enough to see and smell flowers in person. It is possible to purchase a bottle of Kadupul perfume. However, how do you know if a flower really smells like that?
Middlemist red
Another invaluable plant that can be found in only 2 places on Earth. One of them is the New Zealand Botanical Garden, and the second is one of the greenhouses in England. At the same time, the birthplace of the flower is China, and it is named after the British gardener John Middlemist, who brought it from Asia to Europe in the 19th century.
Moreover, it is not known how the Red Middlemist ended up in New Zealand. There is an assumption that a descendant of an English flower, and not a Chinese one, was already exported.According to another version, one of the two flowers, which belonged to John Middlemist, was sold without his knowledge.