Rare plant finally flowers after 25 YEAR wait - but hurry if you want to see it as it will die within weeks

A rare plant which has taken 25 years to flower has finally bloomed - shooting up to 14ft in a matter of weeks.

The Furcraea plant has spent its whole life building up enough energy to produce a single floral spike.

Until six weeks ago its foliage was just 3ft tall - but now the magnificent bloom towers at 14ft 1in.

It is so tall it nearly matches the height of a neighbouring palm tree at the National Trust property Overbeck’s, near Salcombe, Devon.

But the glory will be short-lived - because once it has finished blooming in a few weeks the plant will die.

Head gardener Catrina Saunders said: 'It’s been a huge hit with visitors to the garden, who are taking advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to admire the plant.

'I feel really lucky to be working here at this time - it’s not your everyday gardening experience.

'We're not exactly sure how long the flower spike will last but we could expect another three weeks of flowering.

'The whole plant will then die and it will either produce seeds or bulbils which will arrive where the flowers have been.'

The gardeners are hoping to collect a mass of seeds or bulbils from the plant, in an attempt to grow another plant, and then will have to wait another 25 years for a new Furcraea to bloom.