Talipot Palm, Melocanna Baccifera, and Vietnamese Bamboo are tree species that may take decades or even centuries to bloom once.
1. Talipot Palm: Blooms every 30 – 80 years. Considered the national tree of Sri Lanka, this giant palm can reach heights of up to 25 meters and have a trunk diameter of 1 to 1.5 meters. The Talipot Palm holds the record for the largest flower cluster, measuring 6 to 8 meters long with millions of flowers. This species only blooms once in its lifetime, which can be between 30 to 80 years old. After flowering, the plant’s life cycle ends as all stored nutrients are dedicated to fruit production. (Source: Flickr)
2. Melocanna Baccifera: Blooms every 44 – 48 years. This species belongs to the bamboo family and comprises a significant portion of the plant species in India. It only flowers every 44 to 48 years, or even longer. However, local people wish this event would take place even less frequently, or ideally, not at all. The reason is that the plant’s seed dispersal process attracts many rodents, including black rats. (Source: Toplist.vn)
3. Vietnamese Bamboo: Blooms every 60 – 100 years: This flowering plant, according to traditional knowledge, has a blooming cycle of 60 to 100 years. Bamboo is a perennial plant that flowers only once in its lifetime. After this single flowering event and fruiting, the plant will wither and die immediately. (Source: Giao Thong Newspaper)
4. Madagascar Palm: Blooms every 100 years: The Tahina palm is a giant species found in Madagascar, reaching a height of about 20 meters. It is also the largest palm in the region, but what makes the Tahina special is that it flowers and fruits only once in its lifetime, and this occurs after… 100 years. Currently, there are fewer than 100 individuals of Tahina in the wild, classifying this palm as critically endangered. (Source: Wikipedia)
5. “Queen of the Andes”: Blooms every 80 – 150 years. This plant, dubbed the “Queen of the Andes,” is found only in Peru and Bolivia. Known scientifically as Puya raimondii, it can grow about 3 to 4 meters tall. Living at altitudes of 3,000 to 4,800 meters with extremely harsh climatic conditions, Puya raimondii takes a long time, from 80 to 150 years, to store enough nutrients for its first and only reproductive event in its lifetime. (Source: Pikes on Bies)
