The Most Popular Flower in the World
Can you guess which flower is the most beautiful, most exotic and most costly in the world? This plant was so desired and prized that it once inspired the greatest plant-hunting craze in England. That's not all. Today, this plant is protected under international laws that prevent international trade from threatening its survival.
Let me give you another clue. Singapore's National Flower belongs to this family of blooms. If your answer is the orchid, you guessed it!
The Cattleya (pronounced kat -lee- uh )
There are over 25,000 to 30,000 known species of orchids in the world. Out of these, the Cattleya is the most extraordinary. In fact, the Cattleya is the orchid that inspired England's greatest orchid craze!
A short while after the Cattleya was discovered by a plant enthusiast named Cattley ( the orchid was named after him) about two hundred years ago, the greatest plant-hunting craze occurred in England. At that time, members of the English high society competed to see who could amass the largest collection of the most beautiful and rarest species of orchids. One of them even built a gigantic greenhouse 18 meters high and 91 meters long to house his orchids!
If you're thinking of getting one of these highly valued Cattleyas, I'm afraid you would have to travel to Costa Rica or to tropical South America. On the other hand, if you're thinking of planting one of these flowers, you will have to be very patient as Cattleyas take five to seven years or longer to bloom!
However, when the Cattleya does bloom, your patience and effort will be rewarded as it has very large, striking and showy flowers. The flowers, which vary in size, are purple in colour, but hybrids of the Cattleya can be found in all colours except true blue and black.
Cymbidian (pronounced sim- bid -ee- uh m) Orchids
Cymbidian orchids are the most popular of all orchids. They are the most commonly grown as they can survive under most conditions.
Indeed, Cymbidian orchids can be found growing on the ground, on trees or on rocks. They can be found growing naturally in Japan, China, South East Asia and Australia. You may even have come across them in Singapore!
These orchids can grow up to 1.2 meters in height. The flowers have irregular, waxy and almost translucent petals. The center of the flower is usually a contrasting colour. Typical Cymbidian orchids have large flowers that are very showy and there can be as many as 20 to 30 blooms on a single spike. The blooms come in many different colors such as white, yellow, orange, red, purple and even green.
The Vanda Miss Joaquim
Singapore's National Flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim, is a cross-breed between the Burmese Vanda teres and the Malayan Vanda hookerana .
The orchid was discovered in the garden of Agnes Joaquim at 2 Narcis Street, Tanjong Pagar, in 1893. Hence the flower was named after her. The plant grows in dense clumps and the flowers are a rosy-violet with an orange centre.
This orchid was chosen among 40 other flowers to become Singapore's National Flower on April 15, 1983. It was chosen because of its hardiness, resilience, vibrant colours and year-round blooming quality. These qualities reflect Singapore's spirit of strength in the face of adversity and an ever-blossoming and vibrant country.
You can find the Vanda Miss Joaquim and many other orchids in the Singapore Botanical Gardens.