- Oh, these aren't your mama's dandelions, uh-uh.
The world is filled with all kinds of rare,
exotic, amazing and wonderful things.
You might not think of plants as being something
that deserves to be on that list, but as it turns out,
there are several plants in this world
that you will likely never see or even hear about
because they are so exotic and rare.
That is, of course, until this video!
Seriously, if you've never thought of plants as amazing,
this might just change your perspective.
Here are the 10 rarest exotic plants on Earth.
(gentle music)
Number 10 is the Golf Ball.
Mamalaria herrera, more commonly known as the Golf Ball,
is named appropriately because it resembles a golf ball.
These cool looking plants can be found in Mexico,
specifically within an area that is less
than one kilometer squared and requires hot,
dry climates to thrive.
Illegal collecting by nearby businesses and even children
are the biggest threats to the golf ball,
as it's considered a unique ornament and is desired
for homes and gardens by people visiting the area.
It's estimated that over the last 20 years,
the number of Golf Ball plants has plummeted by over 95%.
In 2011, it was reported that less than 430 mature plants
were surviving by themselves in the wild,
a number that is no doubt much smaller today.
Okay, picking this rare exotic plant is dumb.
You should all just stop it, however,
it's not as dumb as actually trying to play with it.
I found a golf ball growing out of the ground, guys.
(laughing)
Oh, it exploded.
Number nine is Attenborough's Pitcher Plant.
Named after naturalist
and broadcaster Sir David Frederick Attenborough,
Attenborough's Pitcher Plant also gets its label
from its appearance, which resembles a bell shaped pitcher
of liquid, complete with a lid.
Officially known as nepenthes attenboroughiii,
these carnivorous plants are exposed to the elements,
so they're usually found full of rainwater,
in addition to whatever they've happened
to catch and feed on.
Ah, I'm just a plant.
Come on, mates, I'm hungry.
They can only be found in the Philippines,
going undiscovered until 2009 and are considered to be
a critically endangered species.
Research into the Attenborough Pitcher Plant's habitat
reveals that there are only around 300 different plants,
a number affected by their value
in Japanese and Taiwanese markets.
Number eight is Poke-Me-Boy Tree.
While it may have a humorous name,
the Poke-Me-Boy Tree's current status is actually
no laughing matter.
That's because there are so few of them left to joke about.
Is that because they're ticklish, poke, poke?
I'm sorry, I'll stop.
Also known as vaculia anegadensis,
this plant could easily be wiped out if something
isn't done to positively affect climate change.
The Poke-Me-Boy Tree is exclusively found just eight meters
above sea level on two of the British Virgin Islands
in the Caribbean Sea.
A member of the legume family,
these spiney, shrub-like plants are considered critically
endangered due to the small areas they're found
being taken up by development projects,
such as real estate and hotel construction.
Oh, you found one of them rare plants, huh?
Yeah, but we gotta put a pool in.
But the biggest risk could actually be a rise in sea levels
which, if it passes eight meters, could drown these plants.
Number seven is the Suicide Palm.
A truly interesting species of plant,
the tahina spectabilis, gets its nickname,
the Suicide Palm, due to its lifecycle.
Found only in northwestern Madagascar,
these giant palm trees live for around 50 years
and then flower, dropping seeds and dying in the process.
Suicide Palms' numbers are being threatened
due to the increased frequency of fire,
which has transformed much of the plants' natural habitat
and by livestock grazing around them,
which further removes such habitat and destroys seeds
before they can even begin growing.
It's been estimated that only around 90 Suicide Palms
exist today, but it's possible that that number
could be as small as 30,
meaning that these fascinating plants are
on the verge of extinction.
I'm no scientist,
but if you're gonna name it the Suicide Palm,
isn't that its job to sort of disappear after awhile.
It's not named the Live Forever Plant.
Number six is the Jellyfish Tree.
Officially called medusagyne oppositafolia,
the Jellyfish Tree gets its name from the shape
of its fruit after it bursts open and spreads seeds.
A tropical plant, this tree can only be found at four sites
off the east coast of Africa,
with every specimen within two kilometers of the ocean.
It can grow up to 10 meters tall and has a dark colored bark
with deep fissures in it.
Once considered to be completely extinct,
a handful of them were actually found in the 1970s.
Still, they're considered to be critically endangered
as only one of the sites where they've been found
is repopulating while the other three have only been aging.
It's estimated that only 86 mature Jellyfish Trees
exist today and that number is shrinking faster
than it's growing.
I think there's a direct correlation between how cool
a plant looks and how quickly it goes extinct.
You never see shrubs disappearing.
Number five is the Western Underground Orchid.
The rhizanthella gardneri, or Western Underground Orchid,
is such a rare plant that its precises locations
ae actually kept secret from the public in an effort
to keep their numbers from decreasing any faster
than the rate that they already are.
Native to the wester Australia outback,
these beautiful orchids are actually classified
as a parasite.
Hmm, sounds like the same classification of some
of the women in Hollywood.
It spends its entire life cycle submerged under the soil,
surviving by leaching nutrients from a fungus
that grows on the roots of broom bush instead
of through photosynthesis as normal orchids do.
Considered to be critically endangered,
these mysterious plants are truly bizarre,
making them desirable to many.
To date, it's estimated that there are only
around 50 of them in five locations,
under the soils in Australia.
Okay, hold up, if these things are underground,
how do we really know that they're disappearing?
There could be many, kind of like Ninja Turtles.
Number four is the Ascension Island Parsley Fern.
Unique to Ascension Island,
a volcanic land mass in the South Atlantic Ocean,
the Ascension Island Parsley Fern can only be found
on the steep slopes of Green Mountian.
First recorded in 1842, these small ferns feature
yellow-green leaves that resemble parsley.
Much of the plant life on Ascension Island was destroyed,
either by humans directly destroying its habitat
or through the introduction of invasive animal species
such as goats, sheeps, rabbits and rats that were brought
in by Portuguese explorers and ate much of it.
But for the plants on Green Mountian,
life was also strongly affected by the introduction
of outside plant species to the area by British botanist
looking to change the soils and climate.
As of 2003, the parsley fern is considered extinct outside
of the preservation area.
Man, I've said it before, leave it up to the goats
to always be causing (goat braying) trouble.
Number three is the Parrot's Beak.
Found only in the Canary Islands, the lotus bertheloti,
also known as Parrot's Beak, Coral gem and lotus vine flower
is a perennial flower that is cultivated
for its ornamental look.
The species has leaves that are divided
into three to five leaflets,
each of which are one centimeter to two centimeters long
and covered in tiny hairs that appear silver in color.
Covered in tiny hairs, huh?
Hmm, I might belong to this species.
The flowers range in color from orange-red to bright red
and are shaped like a pea flower.
Many consider the Parrot's Beak to be extinct in the wild
as none have been found
occurring naturally for several years.
Back in 1884, the species was already labeled
as an exceedingly rare species and its beauty
had many collecting them for their gardens or arrangements,
making its numbers decline even faster.
Number two is the Venda Cycad.
The encephalartos hirsutus or Venda Cycad
is a plant species native to South Africa.
Found at altitudes ranging from 1,287 to 1,609 kilometers
above sea level, these fern like plants were last spotted
in 2004 by helicopter surveyors who reported
only finding around 219 plants,
well below the 400 to 500 that were estimated
to be in existence.
However, in 2006, ground rangers from the Limpopo
Provincial Government failed to locate a single Venda Cycad,
drawing questions as to what happened to them
or if they're even still around.
The Venda Cycad is classified as a critically endangered
plant species and many believe it's already extinct,
claiming other variations found are either man made
or of different Cycad subspecies.
Man, these things are rare,
kind of like the baldus santororis.
One of a kind; pray for me.
And number one is the Wood's Cycad.
The encaphalartos woodii, also known as the Wood's Cycad,
is the rarest plant on the planet that we know of.
Unique to the forests of South Africa,
these species are actually extinct in nature,
only existing in man made facilities and cloned
in order to reproduce.
First discovered in 1895, the Wood's Cycad is a palm tree
that can reach as high as six meters.
Its trunk has a diameter of 30 to 50 centimeters
and it's topped with dark green leaves.
Due to the fact that the Wood's Cycad is diecious,
meaning it requires both male and female plants
to form a new one and a female plant has never
been found in the wild,
this plant only exists in protected gardens.
Only one naturally occurring male version
of the species exists and was relocated
to save the plant true extinction.
Wait, one of these things needs a male and a female partner?
(laughing)
These plants be getting freaky.
So those are the 10 rarest exotic plants on Earth.
If you guys enjoyed this,
remember to give it a big thumbs up.
Also be sure to subscribe to my channel if you haven't yet
and click the bell beside the subscribe button
so that you can enable notifications
so you never miss a thing,
because I release new videos all the.
Thank you for watching and I'll see you in the next one.
Peace.