Gold of Kinabalu: One of the most expensive orchids globally

Flowers are one of the most mainstream go-to gifts that we would give to someone. They always have a way to uplift someone’s mood or brighten a space. We stumbled upon a list of the most expensive flowers. We thought the saffron plant would top the list, but we were surprised to discover that the Gold of Kinabalu, an orchid native to Malaysia costs more than the saffron.

What makes this orchid special?

Come meet Kinabalu Park’s Rothschild’s Slipper Orchid (Paphiopedilum rothschildianum). Rothschild’s Slipper Orchid, dubbed “the aristocrat of all slipper orchids,” is extremely pricey for two reasons:

• It is a rare and endangered species that is only found in Kinabalu Park.
• It takes 15 years for a plant to grow and bloom.
  

Rothschild’s Paphiopedilum is indigenous to North Borneo. Plants are only found on the low slopes of Mount Kinabalu, at an elevation of 600-1200 m. They grow in deciduous humus attached to high limestone cliffs and slopes of the northern exhibition. The Gold of Kinabalu also, frequently grows near running water, 6-12 m above streams.

Gold Of Kinabalu – One of North Borneo’s Crowning Glory

Gold of Kinabalu orchid is a medium to large sized, clear-leafed, multiflowered, warm to cool growing terrestrial, sometimes lithophytic species with very narrowly elliptic or ligulate, suberect leaves. The leaves are 40-60 cm long and 5 cm wide, they are leathery, bright green to yellowish green, and have reddish hair at the base. At a sufficiently high level of light, the leaves will be yellowish.

The Gold of Kinabalu is also known as Sumazau Orchid because the flower’s broad sweeping side petals resemble the outspread arms of Sumazau dancers, Sabah’s most popular traditional dance.

You might be thinking what makes this normal-looking orchid one of the most expensive flowers on earth? Well like it or not it can go up to $6000 (Rm27K) in the market. Now the question is would you spend that much on a flower to show someone how much they mean to you?