Largest orchid in the world

Brazil's environmental agency says the "largest orchid in the world" is growing in a botanic garden in the capital, at a height of 2.5 metres with some stems measuring as long as three metres.

Displayed at the Brazilian Orchids Project garden in Brasilia, the flower - part of the Grammatophyllum genus - has been growing for five years and already has 19 long stems, on which 400 flowers bloom, the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resource said.

Biologist Lou Menezes, head of the orchid garden, says he had "grown and adapted [the plant] to the harsh climate" in Brasilia, which is drier than its native Malaysia.

Experts are working on a special hybrid species of orchid by crossing Grammatophyllum flowers with the Cyrtopodium genus, which is often found in the Brazilian rainforest.

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