Lidl and B&Q accidentally sell rare plants worth £4,000 for just £10

Lidl and B&Q have accidentally been selling rare plants that are worth thousands of pounds.

If you have recently purchased a plant from one of the stores, you could be the owner of a very valuable and expensive item.

Some of the rare plants are selling for just £10.

Why are the plants being sold for £10?

Supermarkets are not aware that small variations that occur naturally in common plants can make them very valuable.

These variations are often mistaken for disease, causing shops to sell the plants at a reduced price.

Some of the plants have been sold for around £10 but they are selling for a much bigger price online for just a small part of it such as a leaf or a stem.

Your local shop may still have the rare plants in stock - and it would be wise to have a look around when you next visit.

What are the rare plants being sold in stores?

Variegated Monstera Deliciosa

This is the most common plant to find in any shop and is more commonly known as a Swiss Cheese plant because of the holes in its leaves. The regular green plant isn’t valuable, but the variegated monstera is very rare.

Some of these plants develop white markings on their stems and leaves.

Because the signs can be subtle in young plants, shops often confuse them with the plain variety and sell them for a tenner.

A single branch of the plant could cost thousands, with Etsy’s most expensive at £4,562.18.

A single five-inch stick prices on Facebook Marketplace at £1,399.

Look for white lines on the stems or a constellation-like pattern on the leaves.

Variegated Monstera Adansonii

This plant is the Swiss Cheese’s smaller cousin, even more valuable.

These plants need to be fed throughout winter unlike other houseplants and if they’re not they develop white spots causing shops to sell them cheaper.

The spots are confused with the beginnings of variegation.

On Ebay, the most expensive is on sale for £3,699.

A single leaf can sell for as much as £1,533.39 on Etsy.

Philodendron White Princess or White Knight

There are over 400 species of Philodendron in the world, causing shops to struggle to differentiate between them.

There is a Philodendron with white leaves worth hundreds.

The Philodendron White Princess and White Knight look similar with green leaves with white lines that might be mistaken for disease.

On Etsy, these sell for as much as £4,216.82 for a White Knight and the White Princess prices at roughly £400 on various sites.

Pink Princess Philodendron

The Pink Princess Philodendron is very similar to the White Knight and White Princess, but it has pink variegation instead of white.

The pink takes a while for it to show causing the price to be lowered.

A mature plant goes for as much as £2,228 on Etsy.

A single leaf could earn you around £200.

Monstera Obliqua

This is one of the rarest houseplants, with its fragile leaves often being mistaken for pest damage.

A genuine Obliqua is amongst the most sought after plant by enthusiasts.

A single leaf is on sale on Etsy for £1,590 and on Ebay for £1,250.

On Facebook Marketplace, a small plant sells for £1,000.

A version of this article originally appeared on NationalWorld.com