Halfeti roses are very rare rose. They are shaped like regular roses, but the colors are what distinguishes them. The roses are so black, so that new people see them thinking that these roses have been sprayed with paint. But the black color is really their natural color.
This stunning black roses can be excellent props in movies about magic and wizards, or in a heavy-metal video.
Although they looked perfectly black, they were originally dark red. The flowers are seasonal - they only grow during the summer in small quantities, and only in the small village of Halfeti, Turkey. Thanks to the unique soil conditions in this region, and the pH level of groundwater (which seeps from the Euphrates river), these roses are then 'evil splendor'. They bloom dark red during the spring and fade to black during the summer months.
The locals seem to enjoy this love-hate relationship with this rare flower. They regard this flower as a symbol of mystery, hope and passion, but also death and bad news. Unfortunately, Halfeti black roses are an endangered species. These roses have been under threat of extinction since villagers moved away from the old "Halfeti" (Old Halfeti) in the 1990s, when the Birecik dam was built.
Old Halfeti and several other villages were submerged under the waters of the Euphrates, when the dam was created. The new Halfeti village was rebuilt in the village land of Karaotlak which is 10 kilometers from the old half.
This 10 km distance proved fatal to a beautiful black rose. The villagers again planted their new gardens with these black rose seeds, but these flowers did not adapt to their new surroundings very well. There was a significant drop in the number of black roses grown in the region.
Local authorities have made efforts to save this black rose. They collect the seeds of black roses and plant them in a place closer to their original environment in the greenhouse. And since then, the black roses have been somewhat saved.