Believe it or not, in the seventeenth century tulip bulbs were a hot commodity. The bulbs were prized for their shape, their rarity, and their vivid colours. Having tulips back then was a status symbol, and special tulip vases were often used to display them. For a time bulbs were bought and sold at frantic pace in a kind of "tulipmania": some were known to sell for about 10,000 guilders, or about $5600 today.
Saffron Crocus
The crocus is a beautiful purple flower, but it’s the yellow stamens that are the big winner for this plant. The stamens are used to make saffron, the world’s most expensive spice. To get about 500 grams of this spice takes about 80,000 flowers, which are picked and dried by hand. This popular spice sells for about $1500 per pound!
This rare and beautiful plant is an endangered species of orchid, and it’s very hard to come by. Firstly, it grows only in a small area of Kinabalu National Park in Malaysia. Secondly, it blooms only in April and May. Add to this it’s slow growth rate and beautiful appearance and it’s one rare beauty. These orchids sells for approximately $5500 each.
This orchid is the priciest one ever sold. It is a man-man variety that took eight years to develop and grow. It also takes four to five years for its flower to bloom. This orchid sold at auction in 2005 for a whopping $160,000!
And the most expensive flower? This rare and fragile beauty is actually the flower of a cactus from Sri Lanka that is not only hard to find but also blooms only at night. The flower dies before dawn, and if picked, dies even more rapidly. For these reasons it has never made it to a shop for sale, and its value? Priceless!
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