Singapore has named a purple orchid hybrid after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos during the last day of their state visit to the Lion City on Wednesday.
The Marcoses got a first-hand look at the Dendrobium orchid when they visited Singapore’s National Botanical Garden on the last day of their state visit, according to Malacañang.
“Dendrobium Ferdinand Louise Marcos” was described as “a robust and free-flowering orchid hybrid.”
It produces semi-arching inflorescences of 50 to 70 centimeters in length that bear 20 to 30 well-arranged flowers, with each flower measuring approximately 4 centimeters in width.
The orchid’s curled sepals have a white background adorned with lavender striations, while its petals are white and flushed with bluish mauve.
Mr. Marcos is the latest leader to be honored under the so-called “orchid diplomacy,” a tradition of naming a new orchid species grown in Singapore after a foreign leader or celebrity.
Singapore Botanical Garden curator Whang Lay Keng said the orchid naming shows the close diplomatic ties between the two countries which will “grow and propagate” just like the orchid.
“We are very honored to have an orchid named after the President and [his] spouse,” Whang said.
Orchid varieties have been named after Filipino leaders and celebrities in the past, among them former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, the President’s mother.
Former President Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo also had an orchid named after her.
The late Presidents Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and his mother, Corazon “Cory” Aquino, were also given similar recognition.
