Elizabeth is majestic, hardy and “very fashionable,” said a leading Singapore flower curator – referring not to the late monarch but to an orchid named after the Queen when she visited the former British colony.
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last week, the city-state’s botanical gardens loaned a towering branch of Dendrobium Elizabeth to the British High Commissioner’s residence to be displayed alongside images of the monarch.
The orchid hybrid with twisted Dresden-yellow petals and an uranium-green lip was named in honor of the queen when she visited Singapore in 1972, said Whang Lay Keng, curator of Singapore’s National Orchid Garden.
“Dendrobium Elizabeth is a majestic, hardy and resilient plant,” she told AFP.
“It’s a bit like how Queen Elizabeth wore herself.”
Blooming only twice a year, Dendrobium Elizabeth was bred from orchids native to Singapore and Papua New Guinea and only bears around 40 flowers per plant.
Orchid-mad Singapore boasts the delicate, colorful blooms as its national flower, and the city-state often christens new hybrids after visiting dignitaries as part of its diplomatic charm offensive.
The tradition originated in 1957 during British colonial rule – which lasted more than 140 years – when a variety of orchid was named after the wife of the then London High Commissioner in Singapore.
Queen Elizabeth made her first state visit to Singapore in 1972, followed by two more visits in 1989 and 2006.
“In the 1970s, the color yellow-green was very popular, so naturally we wanted to pick something fashionable and very interesting,” Whang said, adding that “yellow is a royal color.”
But the tropical lowland orchid also has very distinct Southeast Asian traits.
It’s a “sun-loving plant that thrives in moist and humid climates where sunlight and warmth are important for its growth,” the orchid curator said.
Among the more than 200 hybrid orchids, named after visiting leaders and celebrities, on display in the VIP area of ??the city’s sprawling botanical gardens is the Dendrobium Memoria Princess Diana. The pastel white bloom was so named after the death of the Princess of Wales.
