Kimilsungia is a

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

of the genus ''

Dendrobium ''Dendrobium'' is a genus of mostly Epiphyte, epiphytic and Lithophyte, lithophytic orchids in the Family (biology), family Orchidaceae. It is a very large genus, containing more than 1,800 species that are found in diverse habitats throughout m ...

''. It is a clone of a plant that was created in Indonesia by orchid breeder Carl Ludwig C. L. Bundt, who in 1964 registered the grex name ''Dendrobium'' Clara Bundt for all orchids of the same ancestry, naming it after his daughter. It has a complex ancestry from cultivated orchids. An attempt was made to register the grex name ''Dendrobium'' Kimilsungia, but this is not valid, it is a later

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

of ''Dendrobium'' Clara Bundt. As a

name (applying to only part of the grex), the correct name is ''Dendrobium'' Clara Bundt 'Kimilsungia'. Another grex name ''Dendrobium'' Kimilsung Flower refers to plants of related but different ancestry. Another flower, the

Kimjongilia Kimjongilia is a flower named after the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. It is a hybrid cultivar of tuberous begonia, registered as ''Begonia'' × ''tuberhybrida'' 'Kimjongilhwa'. When Kim Jong Il died in December 2011, the flower was us ...

, is named after

Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

's son,

Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader of North Korea from Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung, the de ...

. Neither the Kimilsungia nor the Kimjongilia are the

national flower In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used t ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. The national flower of the country is the ''

Magnolia sieboldii ''Magnolia sieboldii'', or Siebold's magnolia, also known as Korean mountain magnolia and Oyama magnolia, is a species of ''Magnolia'' native to east Asia in China, Japan, and Korea. It is named after the German doctor Philipp Franz von Siebold ...

'' with white flowers. According to the

Korean Central News Agency The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) () is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946, and now features ...

, Kim Il Sung's "peerless character" is "fully reflected in the immortal flower" which is "blooming everywhere on the five continents".

Description

The plant grows high. Its leaves adhere to the nodes alternatively and each stalk yields 3–15 flowers. The flowers have three petals and three calyxes and measure . It blooms for 60–90 days. It grows best in daylight temperatures of and at night.

History

During President Kim Il Sung's visit to Indonesia in 1965, Presidents

Sukarno Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...

and Kim were touring the Bogor Botanical Gardens when the latter was smitten by an orchid originating from

Makassar Makassar ( ), formerly Ujung Pandang ( ), is the capital of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, ...

, which had been cultivated to bloom during his visit. President Sukarno, seeing Kim's enthusiasm, proposed that the flower be named ''Kimilsungia'', as a symbol of eternal friendship between the two countries. Reportedly, Kim Il Sung initially declined the offer, but upon Sukarno's insistence he had to accept. In North Korea, the flower was successfully cultivated in April 1975, in time for Kim Il Sung's birthday, and subsequently introduced to the North Korean populace for the first time in April 1977, for Kim Il Sung's 65th birthday. The violet ''Kimilsungia'' orchid has since become a symbol of the late Juche leader, being used in floral arrangements representing the North Korean state.

Annual festivals

The annual Kimilsungia Festival has been held since 1998, and is held around the

Day of the Sun The Day of the Sun () is an annual public holiday in North Korea on 15 April, the birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung, founder and Eternal President of North Korea. It is the most important national holiday in the country, and is considered to ...

. Kimilsungia flower shows are held every year in Pyongyang. Traditionally, embassies of foreign countries in North Korea each present their own bouquet of the flower to the annual exhibition.

References

External links

Kimilsungia Is an Immortal Flower That has Bloomed in the Hearts of Mankind in the Era of Independence
– Kim Jong Il on Kimilsungia, April 6, 2005. {{Kim Il-sung National symbols of North Korea Dendrobium Kim Il Sung Orchid cultivars

Description

History

Annual festivals

See also

References

Further reading

External links