A rare flower has bloomed in Ukraine, showcasing a unique winter phenomenon. Check out the stunning photos of this extraordinary event!

Employees of the National Nature Park "Tuzlovsky Limans" have discovered the first bloom of the red-listed flower — the Ankara snowdrop — in the Odessa region. Doctor of Biological Sciences and park employee Ivan Rusev considers this a unique winter phenomenon.

The flower bloomed during the days between Christmas and New Year, marking the first astonishing natural event for this time of year. Local residents refer to the flower as "brandushka," the scientist reported.

The blooming signifies the onset of spring in the Kogilnik River basin near the city of Tatarbunar. The Ankara snowdrop is regarded as the earliest ephemeral (early-flowering perennial plants that complete their vegetative cycle before the onset of high summer temperatures — ed.) among spring flowers.

Rusev notes that during this winter season, the flower began to show its first leaves immediately after the winter solstice in 2024.

The main threat to the flower is anthropogenic changes to their habitats, including livestock grazing, plowing of steppes, and afforestation in steppe areas. Human activities, particularly the collection of flowers for sale and the digging up of bulbous tubers, also impact the plant.

It is important to note that due to illegal plowing, over 50% of the steppe areas in the "Tuzlovsky Limans" have seen the Ankara snowdrop begin to disappear more than 30 years ago.

The Ankara snowdrop is a toxic perennial plant belonging to the family Amaryllidaceae. The flower, which can grow up to 15 centimeters tall, is also found in the steppes of Northern Black Sea region, Crimea, the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, and the adjacent southeastern regions of Central and Eastern Europe.

Recall that a video has gained popularity online, in which a guy shows how a plant grew on his hand. Some users speculated that he had cut his hand and seeds had gotten into the wound.

In Australia, people queued to see the "corpse flower," which blooms once a decade. The unpleasant odor of the plant attracts pollinators — beetles and flies.