Rosa de Bayahibe – Prensa Latina

It is born from one of the rarest types of cactus on the planet, as it has branches and leaves. When the plant reaches 1.5 to 2 meters in height, flowering begins, generally in the first months of the year; However, it can reach six meters tall, making it a very beautiful shrub.

In Bayahibe, an important tourist area in this country, there are specific conditions for its growth and development.

There it is called “mata de chile” because its fruit is shaped like a small coin.

For the residents of this city on the Caribbean coast of Altagracia province, with a population of 4,000, most of them fishermen, preserving the cactus and its beautiful rosette with pink petals – usually 2.2 cm long – is a beloved daily task.

Hotels and other tourist centers have planted the national flower, which attracts the attention of visitors from other parts of the country or abroad.

The Bayahibe rose was discovered in 1977 by French botanist Henri-Alain Leoghaire, who named it Peresquea quisquiana in honor of Quisquia, the name given to the island by the indigenous Taino people who inhabited it before it was destroyed by Spanish colonization.

To protect these rare specimens that are in serious danger of extinction, the National Fund for Environment and Natural Resources and the relevant ministry have agreed on a project to preserve and recognize them.

A group of specialists is documenting and analyzing the ideal conditions for its reproduction and implementing a series of initiatives aimed at its reproduction.

This project will enable the National Botanical Garden to build a nursery for about four thousand jobs, with a seed bank, in addition to organizing conferences aimed at ensuring that the population knows about the national flower and cooperates in its care.

(Taken from Orb)