SINGAPORE – A rare and striking plant, kept for more than 25 years as part of the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ living collections, has flowered for the first time.

The Costus fenestralis is a member of the spiral ginger family often known as Costus “Blue Hawaii”, the Singapore Botanic Gardens said in a statement posted on Facebook on July 14.

The plant is recognisable by its unusual leafy shoots, with leaves crowded at the top of the stem and spreading out in a circular, umbrella-like arrangement.

Its large, tubular flowers feature different shades of pink with a bright yellow patch on the labellum, a modified petal that often serves as a landing platform for pollinators, suggesting that it is most likely pollinated by bees, said the Botanic Gardens.

The yellow stamen ends in a delicate pink crest, shaped almost like a tiny crown.

The plant was formally described only in 2016, from the Doudou Mountains of south-western Gabon, in Central Africa.

As descriptions at the time relied largely on pressed and preserved specimens, some physical characteristics and colours of the plant were unknown.

“Moments like this highlight not only the importance of long-term care in living plant collections but also what kind of patience, perseverance and highly specialised knowledge our curators need to have to make this happen,” the Botanic Gardens said.

“Sometimes, discoveries quite literally take decades to bloom.”

The Straits Times has contacted Singapore Botanic Gardens and the National Parks Board for more information.