Waling-waling to be new national flower for Philippines

Manila: A flower endemic to the southern Philippines is close to being declared the country’s national flower alongside the Sampaguita.

The Sampaguita (Jasminum sambac) has long been recognised and taught to Filipino schoolchildren as the national flower but this distinction could soon be shared with the Waling-waling (Euanthe sanderiana).

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary, Ramon Paje said the impending declaration of the Waling-waling as the national flower was reasonable.

“The Waling-waling can best represent the splendour and uniqueness of Philippine biodiversity because it is considered the finest and most beautiful among all species of orchids in the country,” Paje said.

Aside from this the Waling-Waling, dubbed the “Queen of Philippine Orchids” is endemic to the island of Mindanao, where the indigenous Bagobo tribes worship it. The flower can only be found in Davao, Cotabato, and Zamboanga del Sur provinces.

Earlier, both the Senate and the House of Representatives approved a legislative initiative declaring the Waling-waling as a national flower because of its uniqueness and beauty that caught the attention of flower enthusiasts here and abroad

He said that recognising the Waling-waling as the national flower would “raise public consciousness on its rarity and boost efforts to protect and conserve the flower.”

Critically endangered

Due to the destruction of its wild habitat, the Waling-waling is considered a critically endangered plant species under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora or Cites, an international treaty among governments to ensure that the survival of wild plants and animals are not threatened by their trade.

In 1985 Charita Puentespina, pioneered mass production of the flower through embryo culture, thus saving it from extinction

Today, the trading of Waling-waling specimens is permitted only in exceptional circumstances, while the DENR imposes certain requirements for their propagation.

“Orchid lovers all over the world consider the Waling-waling as one of the most unique and beautiful native orchids in the world and that while some adore it, most Filipinos have forgotten its natural beauty,” Senator Edgardo Angara who sponsored House bill 5655 said in a statement.

On the other hand, Sampaguita (Jasminum sambac), which was adopted as the country’s national flower as early as 1934, is not endemic to the country because it can also be found across South Asia, Hawaii and even the Middle East, where it is known as Arabian Jasmine. The Sampaguita is also one of Indonesia’s national flowers.