A worker sorts Inirida flowers (Schoenocephalium teretifolium) before packing them for export in the town of Inirida, department of Guainía, Colombia, on August 07, 2024. (Photo by Luis ACOSTA / Agence France-Presse)

COLOMBIA — When Ruben Dario Carianil began cultivating the unusual, pointy Inirida flower in the Colombian Amazon 10 years ago, his relatives made fun of him for growing “weeds.”

Today, the 63-year-old Carianil, of the Curripako tribe, grows tons of the curious blooms on a plot outside Inirida – the jungle city of 30,000 people from which the flower took its name.

Article continues after this advertisement

Carianil exports Inirida cuttings to the United States, Europe, and Asia, and soon even more foreigners will be introduced to the rare blossom as the emblem of a UN biodiversity conference to be held in Cali from October 21 to November 1.

FEATURED STORIES BUSINESS National ID gives more Filipinos ‘face value BUSINESS BIZ BUZZ: Unwinding Gogoro … quietly BUSINESS Polvoron maker seeks P500 million capital for expansion

“I’m very happy,” Carianil told Agence France-Presse of his success, which he sees as helping, not harming, the environment.

“For us, Nature, the forest, is life. We Indigenous people respect it and we live in harmony with Nature without damaging it.”

Article continues after this advertisement

Inirida flowers once grew abundantly in the wild in the region. Over-picking led to a dramatic reduction and the government in 1989 prohibited harvesting.

Article continues after this advertisement

The ban remained in place until 2005, when the door was opened for Inirida’s commercial cultivation as long as wild populations remained untouched.

Article continues after this advertisement

So far, only Carianil’s farm has managed to grow, and get a license to market, the red flowers with their hard, spikey, finger-like petals.

READ: LOOK: Rare Rafflesia blooms in Davao Oriental protected area

Article continues after this advertisement

He was helped in the domestication process by biologist Mateo Fernandez.

At first, Carianil’s blooms sold at the local airport, then in the Colombian capital Bogota some 700 kilometers (about 430 miles) away, then further afield.

In 2022, the first box of Inirida blooms was delivered to China from Colombia, one of the world’s top flower growers and exporters.

Inirida: ‘Eternal flowers’

Workers pack Inirida flowers (Schoenocephalium teretifolium) for export in the town of Inirida, department of Guainía, Colombia, on August 07, 2024. (Photo by Luis ACOSTA / Agence France-Presse)

Carianil runs the business with his wife Martha Toledo and their children.

On a plot of some 20 hectares (49 acres), the Inirida crops share space with a variety of native shrubs and even a patch of undisturbed forest.

READ: Breakaway bouquets: Where to find the finest flowers and non-floral bouquets this Valentine’s Day

From the air, the farm looks very different from the flower plantations abundant in Colombia’s Andean regions with their rows upon rows of monoculture, often in plastic greenhouses.

Fertilizers and pesticides are banned on Carianil’s farm, and only Indigenous farming methods used.

“When you buy a flower from Inirida, you take a piece of the jungle home with you,” said Toledo.

They call the enterprise “Liwi: Eternal flowers” as the buds retain their shape years after being cut, even when dried.

It is this longevity that inspired the choice of the Inirida as the logo for the 16th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP16) of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

“This is a flower that never dies, its petals never fall apart. We hope that the COP16 in Colombia can help the world to make peace with Nature, so that we can sustain and maintain life on the planet forever,” says Environment Minister Susana Muhamad.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

SIGN ME UP

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

The flower is native to Colombia’s eastern Guainia departmentwin3799, of which Inirida is the capital, and a part of the neighboring Venezuelan Amazon.

READ NEXT Fuel prices to increase up to P1.10 a liter starting September 24 ‘Convergence’ growing on global plastics treaty �... EDITORS' PICK ASF vaccination expands to bigger piggeries Alex Eala bounces back at WTA 250 Guangzhou Open PVL: Alohi Robins-Hardy set for PH return, joins Farm Fresh Central Visayas’ most wanted killed in shootout in Argao, Cebu Heart Evangelista: Woman to woman, I never had a problem with Pia Wurtzbach Garcia restores original Sinulog theme for 2025, drops Rama’s plan MOST READ DILG identifies 38 hotspots ahead of 2025 polls LIVE UPDATES: Tropical Storm Kristine AFP reprimands cadet who asked for Marcos wrist watch Marcos smiled, walked away when asked about VP Duterte's accusation View comments

• amp
• #8217
• win3799
• Colombia
• Inirida