Waling-waling

Description

Vanda sanderiana is a species of orchid. It is commonly called Waling-waling in the Philippines and is also called Sander's Vanda, after Henry Frederick Conrad Sander, a noted orchidologist. The orchid is considered to be the "Queen of Philippine flowers" and is worshiped as a diwata by the indigenous Bagobo people. It has two forms, pink and white, also referred to as alba. M. Roebelin discovered the original pink variety in the Philippines in 1881 or 1882. Rudolf Schlechter separated Euanthe from Vanda in 1914 due to structural differences in the flowers. For breeding purposes and registration by the Royal Horticultural Society, however, it is still treated as a Vanda. Vanda sanderiana is endemic to Mindanao in the provinces of Davao, Cotabato, and Zamboanga where it is found on the trunks of dipterocarp trees at elevations below 500 meters. Over-collected, the plant is considered rare in nature. It is often used in hybridization. Studies have shown that when raised at high altitude, the plant bears flowers early. In 2004, a motion was filed in the House of Representatives of the Philippines to declare the Waling-waling as the country's national flower, replacing the Sampaguita. In 2013, a bill was passed by the Philippine Senate declaring the Waling-waling as a national flower alongside the Sampaguita. However, the House Bill 5655 was vetoed by President Benigno Aquino III citing that other means were available to promote the protection and preservation of the orchid without declaring it a second national flower. Vanda, abbreviated in the horticultural trade as V., is a genus in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. There are about 87 species, and the genus is commonly cultivated for the marketplace. This genus and its allies are considered to be among the most specifically adapted of all orchids within the Orchidaceae. The genus is highly prized in horticulture for its showy, fragrant, long-lasting, and intensely colorful flowers. Vanda species are widespread across East Asia, Southeast Asia, and New Guinea, with a few species extending into Queensland and some of the islands of the western Pacific. This genus is one of the five most horticulturally important orchid genera, because it has some of the most magnificent flowers to be found in the orchid family.