ST. LOUIS — A rare specimen indeed.
The Missouri Botanical Garden became the center of the horticultural universe recently when one of the world's rarest trees produced an even rarer flower.
The tiny, delicate purple-and-white flower of the Karomia gigas tree, like the one growing in a greenhouse at MoBot, had been seen by only a precious few and never before by plant scientists in St. Louis who were getting their first glimpse.
The tree is related to mint and is known to grow in the wilds of Tanzania. Only about two dozen Karomia gigas grow there. Of the more than 60,000 tree species in existence, it is one of the closest to extinction.
So the 1-inch flower from this endangered tree is a big deal. Sort of like the Ivory-billed woodpecker in Arkansas. Sightings of the flower are all the more rare when you consider the tall, straight tree reaches 80 feet tall, and its branches don't start until 35-40 feet up.
Roy Gereau, the Tanzania program director at the Missouri Botanical Garden, told National Geographic, “To the best of our knowledge, there certainly is no record of the flowers in the scientific literature.''
Because the tree has produced a flower, experts are confident they can save it from extinction. By getting multiple flowers to grow, the trees can be cross-pollinated, boosting its odds of survival.
“From a standpoint of actual extinction, it’s looking really good,” Andrew Wyatt, the vice president of horticulture at the Missouri Botanical Garden, told Nat Geo. “We can make sure the species doesn’t go extinct.”
More flowers are expected to blossom on the Karomia gigas trees at the MoBot greenhouse, and their growth helps scientists better understand the tree.
“Having flowering plants is a great start in efforts to recover the species,” said Emily Beech, an expert on endangered trees at Botanic Gardens Conservation International, in the National Geographic story.
The flower at MoBot didn't stay around long. It shriveled up and dropped off the tree in less than 24 hours. But it was all the hope experts needed.
