To celebrate the year of the monkey a Japanese aquarium — Aquamarine Fukushima — recently opened up an exhibit featuring the rare Dracula simia flower — also known as a Monkey Orchid.
The arrangement of the flower’s column, petals, and lip strongly resembles a monkey’s face.
According to the Chinese lunar calendar the year of the monkey starts on February 8th, 2016.
Certain Monkey Orchids even display a furry appearance, a brown coloration, and a tail-like structure, making the apeish resemblance even more uncanny.
Monkey Orchids only grow at elevations of 1,000 to 2,000 meters in the cloud forests of Ecuador and Colombia, which makes this Japanese exhibit all the more special.
Mother Nature was clearly monkeying around when it decided to create these.
What makes this flower even cooler is that it smells just like a ripe orange when fully blossomed.
The Monkey Orchid is difficult to grow and is therefore rarely found in “captivity”.
The Monkey Orchid family contains over 120 species.
The unique collection of floral monkeys will be displayed up until January 12th.
