It's about blooming time!: Philippine orchid finally gets its due
The waling-waling has long been close to the hearts of the country's citizens and now joins the sampaguita as the country's national flower
- Published: 17 Mar 2013 at 00.00
- Newspaper section: Brunch
The sampaguita (Jasminum sambak), is a flower close to the hearts of most Filipinos and now shares the designation of national flower of the Philippines with an orchid, the waling-waling (Euanthe sanderiana, also known as Vanda sanderiana). The bill was approved by the Philippine Senate last month in a move that was long overdue. Considered the "queen" of Philippine flowers, this indigenous orchid species used to be found in abundance in the dipterocarp forests of Davao, Cotabato and Zamboanga in Mindanao, southern Philippines, but is now on the brink of extinction in its natural habitat due to over-exploitation and destruction of forests.
as fragrant as its cousins, the star jasmine is a prolific bloomer.
The waling-waling was first discovered in the early 1880s, but it was the sampaguita, which originated from India, that was originally named the national flower in 1934, when the Philippines was under American rule. This is understandable, as not everyone could grow the waling-waling, but the naturalised sampaguita could be found throughout the Philippines.
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