For the first time ever in China, Himalayas saprias, a parasitic flowering plant in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, was photographed in bloom by two Chinese researchers.

The Himalayas sapria is an extremely rare Southeast Asian plant. In China, it is only found in Xishuangbanna and Metok in Tibet, and the exact locations are strictly confidential.

Petals slowly unfold and then the full blossom is seen. [Image: Zhu Renbin]

Without stems or leaves, they spend most of their lives unseen, living as parasites on the roots of their host plants until the flowering season, which runs from October to December. In addition, the flower's short blossoming period makes witnessing it nearly impossible.

The 50-second time-lapse shows every bit of the stunning moment when the fist-size balls of wrapped-up petals slowly unfold into a full bloom. However, the historic footage is the result of a more than 30-hour wait, not to mention other preparations beforehand.

Himalayas saprias in different flowering phases [Image: Zhu Renbin]

"From the first movement of the petals to full bloom, it lasted for about 25 hours," said Dr. Zhu Renbin from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden. "We snapped over 2,000 photos with two cameras over that time."

"This is probably also the first time in the world that this flower's blooming process has been filmed," said Dr. Zhu.

Little is known about the rare plant, making this footage an important reference for scientists to further study the plant's characteristics, such as its pollination pattern, said Dr. Zhu.

After one discovery in 1987, the supposedly extinct plant wasn't seen again until 2016. As a typical tropical rainforest plant, its appearance has confirmed the existence of such forests in China's Xishuangbanna.

Source: CGTN