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Money Does Grow on Trees

Well, house plants actually. A green-fingered Brit has grown an extraordinary collection of plants, including a species worth £12,000 ($15,500) per leaf.

30-year-old Tony Le-Britton turned his most of his home into a jungle to nurture his passion, and has collected some of the world’s rarest plants - including one previously thought to have been extinct.


His prized possession? That’d be the Rhaphidophora Tetrasperma Variegata - the most valuable species in his collection. And Tony, from Gloucestershire, England is now flogging the leaves for thousands of pounds per leaf to eager collectors.


Tony said: “The non-variegated plant is really common - you can pick it up in most supermarkets and garden centres. But my version, that’s the genetic mutation - it’s completely random, which makes it rare. It’s the only one in the world with that leaf pattern. I've already taken three pre-orders at £12,000 each, per leaf. There’s a waiting list. I have had so many people contacting me. It’s like growing money on trees!”


Tony said his interest in plants stems from his grandparents, who would take him to their allotment when he was a small boy. He also remembers being sat at his grandmother’s feet and watching the popular BBC television show ‘Gardener’s World’.


Tony said his grandmother Cora was known in the local area for her plant collection - which he has tried to emulate. He said: “It just with stuck with me - I grew up in the garden. It’s all about the experiences I had when I was younger, being at the allotment with my grandparents.


“People always admired Cora’s garden, and she made me a part of that. It’s in my blood I suppose.


‘Gardener’s World’ has even been in touch about doing a show from his house after seeing his social media page - which he described as life coming “full circle”.

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