Bulbophyllum nocturnum, which is the world's first known night-flowering orchid, which has been discovered on New Britain island, near Papua New Guinea.
 Flowers that open only at night are seen in a relatively small number of plant species, such as the queen of the night cactus, the midnight horror tree and night blooming jasmine. The new species belongs to a group of plants which are known for their bizarre flowers.
 
But experts say it has never been documented in the 25,000 species of orchids and described the discovery as "remarkable".
 

Many orchids are pollinated by moths, but have flowers which remain open during the day even though they are mainly pollinated after dark.
 
Further observation of other buds confirmed that they opened at the same time and then closed the 12 hours later the next morning, a few hours after sunrise, lasting for just one night.
 
They variously resemble leggy insects, small hairy spiders to intricate sea creatures and often have thin filaments which make them move erratically in the breeze - possibly to attract insects.
 
The experts speculate that Bulbophyllum nocturnum is pollinated by nocturnal insects, most likely small flies such as midges.