It lived through the Battle of Trafalgar, survived the reign of Victoria and escaped unharmed from a Blitz bomb.
So it's going to take more than a harsh British winter to stop one of the world's rarest camellias from bursting into flower.
This week - in a welcome sign that spring is just around the corner - the 'Middlemist's Red' has put on its most spectacular display in many years.
Rare beauty: This 'Middlemist's red' camellia, thought to be one of only two examples of the variety in the world, has bloomed at the Chiswick House Gardens conservatory
Brought from China to England more than 200 years ago, it is enjoying a new lease of life thanks to the restoration of its 19th century conservatory at Chiswick House, west London, where it is pictured being tended by head gardener Fiona Crumley.
The plant was collected in 1804 by London gardener John Middlemist and given to Kew Gardens. It was moved to its present home some time after 1823.
Head Gardener Fiona Crumley tends to the rare camellia which was brought to Britain from China more than 200 years ago
The 300ft long conservatory was built for the sixth Duke of Devonshire in 1813, but became sadly neglected.
Its glass was all blown out during the Blitz and by the 1980s, it was a ruin.
However a £12.1million restoration project is nearly complete.
Today the conservatory is home to 36 camellias, including seven so rare that they have not even been identified.
The plant, brought to Britain by Londoner John Middlemist, blooms a deep pink - rather than red - for around a month each year
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