Hi orchid lovers. It's been a while since I last posted here. I've not been out quite a bit and have not visited the numerous plants vendors around town. I had no new orchid photos to share. But I was inspired by a post of , (click here for the link) when I saw her Dendrobium Comet King Akatsuki and decided to go over some old photos because I was sure I had something in my archives that are as spectacular, colorful, attractive and with large petals that I have not posted so far. And voila! Here I am. Glad to be back even for a while.
For this post I am sharing with you a very beautiful and expensive flower. The Vanda sanderiana. It is a species of orchid commonly called Waling-Waling in the Philippines. The orchid is considered to be the "Queen of Philippine Flowers" and is worshiped as a diwata or deity by some tribal indigenous people, most notably from the Bagobo tribe.
It is conceded to be one of the most beautiful orchids in the world for its spectacular form, color and size. It also has played a major role in orchid hybridization, making it a recognized and acclaimed orchid. Waling-Waling is native to the Philippines.
These orchids were on display last year at one of the big shopping malls on the occasion of the celebration of the city's foundation day. During this day, the city usually holds a parade and a floral motorcade highlighting all the things that the city is known for like orchids and other flowers, fruits and indigenous tribal ancestors of the island. But all these were suspended because of the pandemic.
My city is the orchid hub of the country. Here, all types of orchids are grown and sold all over the country and around the world. The Waling-Waling is the most expensive orchid that is sold here but despite that it is the most sought-after specie. In fact, my city, Davao City, has adopted this flower as one of its tourism ambassadors and signs and images of it can be found all over the city.
In the photo above and the one below one can see an image of the Waling-Waling in the street where a public park, the Bonifacio Park, is being constructed.
And that's it for this post. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did putting this together. Keep safe everyone and may you all have a wonderful and peaceful weekend.
(All photos are mine.)