My orchid is blossomed, just before the National Day of Singapore. What a great sign! The orchid presents its beauty without taking care....no wonder it's the national flower of Singapore. Vanda Miss Joaquim (simplified Chinese: 卓锦万黛兰; pinyin: zhuójǐn wàndàilán), a hybrid orchid cultivar, is Singapore's national flower.[1]
Born in Singapore on 7 April 1854, Agnes was the eldest daughter of Parsick and Urelia Joaquim. Urelia herself had been born in Singapore in 1828, one of the daughters of pioneering Armenian merchant Isaiah Zechariah and his wife Ashkhen.
Agnes and other family members took a keen interest in horticulture, winning many prizes in the annual flower shows. In April 1899, Agnes showed her hybrid orchid which gained a First Prize as the rarest orchid in the show. As far as we know this is the first time ever for Agnes to have exhibited an orchid. Sadly within three months she was dead having succumbed to illness.
Her orchid however, spread like wildfire throughout the tropics and became very popular in Hawaii.
In 1981, the orchid was chosen as the national flower of Singapore.Thus, fame was assured for both the orchid and for Agnes’ who did not breed the orchid but only found it in her garden.
The actual story is 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)
Born in Singapore on 7 April 1854, Agnes was the eldest daughter of Parsick and Urelia Joaquim. Urelia herself had been born in Singapore in 1828, one of the daughters of pioneering Armenian merchant Isaiah Zechariah and his wife Ashkhen.
Agnes and other family members took a keen interest in horticulture, winning many prizes in the annual flower shows. In April 1899, Agnes showed her hybrid orchid which gained a First Prize as the rarest orchid in the show. As far as we know this is the first time ever for Agnes to have exhibited an orchid. Sadly within three months she was dead having succumbed to illness.
Her orchid however, spread like wildfire throughout the tropics and became very popular in Hawaii.
In 1981, the orchid was chosen as the national flower of Singapore.Thus, fame was assured for both the orchid and for Agnes’ who did not breed the orchid but only found it in her garden.
The actual story is 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)
