Britain's rarest plant is set to go on public display at Kew Gardens

Those wishing to enjoy what might be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see flowers such as the lady’s slipper orchid should probably start planning now.

The lady’s slipper orchid, or Cypripedium calceolus, is often referred to as Britain's rarest flower.
The lady’s slipper orchid, or Cypripedium calceolus, is often referred to as Britain's rarest flower.
(Image credit: Dr Henry Oakeley / Royal Botanic Gardens Kew)
Annunciata Elwes
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Some 20 plants you may not have seen before — all of which are classified as Extinct in the Wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable — will make a rare appearance at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London TW9, next month. These include ‘Britain’s rarest wildflower’, lady’s slipper orchid, which fell victim to ‘orchidelirium’, the widespread Victorian fever for orchids that even led to collectors’ deaths on expeditions.

There will also be a chance to see one-time Cape Town resident Erica verticillata, with its pink tubular flowers, now extinct in the wild; and red angel's trumpet (or Brugmansia sanguinea), a plant used by South American shamans for its psychoactive properties.

Brugmansia sanguinea flowering at Kew Gardens.
(Image credit: Ines Stuart-Davidson/RBG Kew)

‘The quest to care for and propagate these rare plants is a vocation and this exhibition will be a celebration of the work of our dedicated horticulturists who care for these specimens,’ says a spokesperson.

Sophora toromiro, native to Easter Island, is extinct in the wild.
(Image credit: RBG Kew)

Visitors to the Rooms of Rarity and Extinction in the Temperate House will be able to learn how Kew’s experts care for plants — usually far away from the public eye in the Tropical Nursery — that are red-listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, in the hopes of halting biodiversity loss.

Each will be displayed alongside artefacts from the Herbarium, Economic Botany Collection and archives.

‘Rare and Extinct’ runs from October 19–November 17. See kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/rare-and-extinct for more details.

The Temperate House at Kew houses great treasures.
(Image credit: RBG Kew)

The Palm House at Kew Gardens.
(Image credit: Ellen Rooney/Alamy)

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Great Pagoda, 1762, architect William Chambers, Kew Gardens (UNESCO World Heritage List, 2003), London, England, United Kingdom.
(Image credit: De Agostini via Getty Images)

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(Image credit: Alamy)

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Annunciata Elwes
Annunciata Elwes
Annunciata Elwes (née Walton) joined Country Life after founding a literary and music festival at Milton Manor, Oxfordshire, and working at The Sunday Times Travel Magazine.
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