Vanda Miss Joaquim

Vanda Miss Joaquim flower

Vanda Miss Joaquim (Chinese: 卓锦万黛兰; pinyin: zhuójǐn wàndàilán), also known as the Singapore Orchid' and the Princess Aloha Orchid is a hybrid orchid cultivar that is Singapore's national flower.

The flower is named after Agnes Joaquim who found the orchid in a clump of bamboo. An amateur historian has suggested that Miss Agnes Joaquim actually bred the orchid which bears her name. This suggestion is accepted only by a few hobby orchid growers. It was not, and is not accepted by orchid scientists because the available evidence does not support the intentional hybrid idea. The evidence suggests that Vanda Miss Joaquim is a natural hybrid between the Burmese Vanda teres and the Malayan Vanda hookeriana. It is not known which of the two species produced the seeds and which one provided the pollen. When hybrids are made intentionally these facts are known. They are not known for natural hybrids. The hybrid was shown to Henry Ridley, the director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Ridley examined it, had it sketched and sent a description to the Gardeners' Chronicle writing that: ‘A few years ago Miss Joaquim, a lady residing in Singapore, well-known for her success as a horticulturist, succeeded in crossing Vanda Hookeriana Rchb. f., and V. teres, two plants cultivated in almost every garden in Singapore.’ (Gardeners' Chronicle 24 June 1893, p. 740).

References

Arditti, J., and C. S. Hew. 2007. The origin of Vanda Miss Jaoquim. Pages 261-309 in K. M. Cameron, J. Arditti and T. Kull (eds.), Orchid Biology, Reviews and Perspectives, Vol. IX, The New York Botanical Garden Press, New York. Peer reviewed unsubsidized book.

Johnston H. and N. Wright, 2008 Vanda Miss Joaquim: Singapore’s National Flower and the Legacy of Agnes and Ridley, Suntree Media Pte Ltd, Singapore. Subsidized book

Hew, C. S., T. W. Yam and J. Arditti. 2002. Biology of Vanda Miss Joaquim. National University of Singapore Press, Singapore. Peer reviewed and unsubsidized.

Teoh, E. S. 1982. A Joy Forever. Times Books International, Singapore. Peer reviewed and unsubsidized.

Teoh, E. S. 1988. A Joy Forever, 2nd edition. Times Books International, Singapore. Peer reviewed and unsubsidized.

Teoh, E. S. 1989. Orchids of Asia. Times Books International, Singapore. Peer reviewed and unsubsidized.

Wright N. H. 2000. The Origins of Vanda Miss Joaquim. Malayan Orchid Review 34; 70-73. The Malayan Orchid Review (published in Singapore) is a highly respected excellently produced publication aimed primarily at growers. It is not a scientific journal.

Wright N. H. 2003 Respected Citizens: the History of Armenians in Singapore and Malaysia, Amassia Publishing, Middle Park, Australia. Self published book.

Wright N. H. 2004. After a re-examination of the origins of Vanda Miss Joaquim. Orchid Review 112: 292-2988. The Malayan Orchid Review (published in Singapore) is a highly respected excellently produced publication aimed primarily at growers. It is not a scientific journal.

Yam, T. W. 1999. A possible solution to the parentage riddle of Vanda Miss Joaquim. Malayan Orchid Review 33: 53. The Malayan Orchid Review (published in Singapore) is a highly respected excellently produced publication aimed primarily at growers. It is not a scientific journal.

External links

• National Parks Board

• VANDA MISS JOAQUIM - Singapore's National Flower & the Legac y of Agnes & Ridley, by Harold Johnson & Nadia Wright, ISBN: 978-981-08-0333-9, published by Suntree Media Pte Ltd