Visitors to the 2026 Yeosu World Islands Expo are snapping photos of cycad flowers blooming in the Jobaldo forest on the expo grounds, beaming as they crowd around the rare plants.
Cycads grown outdoors are well known for rarely flowering, as the harsh cold of winter makes it difficult for the plants to bloom.
For that reason, cycad flowers are said to bloom only once a century — and legend has it that anyone who sees one in bloom will be visited by great fortune.
Visitors to the island expo this month have been stopping to photograph the prized flowers, wide smiles on their faces. (Photo provided by the Islands Expo Organizing Committee)
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