Vanda Miss Joaquim

Vanda Miss Joaquim (simplified Chinese: 卓锦万黛兰; pinyin: zhuójǐn wàndàilán), a hybrid orchid cultivar, is Singapore's national flower.

Ashkhen Hovakimian, or in English, Agnes Joaquim,found Vanda Miss Joaquim, also known as the Singapore orchid and the Princess Aloha found this orchid in a clump of bamboon in her garden.

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 a prize for rarity.

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 Agnes.

The origin of the orchid is subject to controversy. A contrived story was published claiming that Agnes bred the orchid but this is a claim with no scientific underpining not history. To learn the truth, we must return to science.

Vanda Miss Joaquim is a natural hybrid between Vanda teres and Vanda hookeriana. 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)

So how did the ‘bred’ version of events happen? An amateur historian invented it. In 1981 when Agnes' nephew, Basil Johannes was invited to Singapore for the launching of Vanda Miss Joaquim as the national flower, he said that Agnes had found the orchid in a clump of bamboo.

Vanda Miss Joaquim needs direct sunlight and a lot of air movement to grow, but the protection of a bamboo clump was ideal for seed germination. Documentary evidence does not support the fact that Agnes did breed the orchid.



Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanda_Miss_Joaquim


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