''Vanda sanderiana'' is a species of

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 ...

. It is commonly called waling-waling in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

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 ''Anito'', also spelled ''anitu'', refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the Indigenous Philippine folk religions from the precolonial age to the present, although the term itself may have other meanings and associ ...

'' by the indigenous Bagobo people.

Description

Vegetative characteristics

The leaves are strap shaped.De, L. C., Rao, A. N., & Rajeevan, P. K. (2015)
Morphological characterization in ''Vanda'' spp.
Int J Sci Res, 4, 26-32.

Generative characteristics

The erect inflorescence bears 8–12 flowers with broad, flat sepals and petals.Gardiner, L. M., Kocyan, A., Motes, M., Roberts, D. L., & Emerson, B. C. (2013)
Molecular phylogenetics of ''Vanda'' and related genera (Orchidaceae).
Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 173(4), 549-572.

Taxonomy

It was first published as ''Esmeralda sanderiana'' Rchb.f. by

Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach (Dresden, 3 January 1823 – Hamburg, 6 May 1889) was a botanist and the foremost Germany, German orchidologist of the 19th century. His father Ludwig Reichenbach, Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (author of ''Ico ...

in 1882.''Esmeralda sanderiana'' Rchb.f. (n.d.). International Plant Names Index. Retrieved December 1, 2024, from https://www.ipni.org/n/634385-1 It was transferred to the genus ''Vanda'' R.Br. as ''Vanda sanderiana'' (Rchb.f.) Rchb.f. published by Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach in 1882. It is placed in ''Vanda'' sect. ''Roeblingiana''.

Varieties

The Philippine Orchid Society, which incorporates an image of the flower in its

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

, states that the species has three varieties: * ''Vanda sanderiana'' var. ''albata'' Reichb. f. in Gard. Chron. ser. 3.2 (1887) 9. ''Esmeralda sanderiana'' var. ''albata'' Will :Described by

in The Gardeners' Chronicle in 1887, the plant's flower size is smaller than that of the species. Its lateral

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s are yellowish-green with white margins. Its dorsal sepal and

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s are white with purple spots at the base. The labellum has purple dots. This plant was reported from

Davao del Sur Davao del Sur (; ), officially the Province of Davao del Sur (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Digos. Davao City is the largest city in terms of area an ...

and

South Cotabato South Cotabato, officially the Province of South Cotabato, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, region in Mindanao. Its capital is Koronadal (also the regional cen ...

on Mindanao Island where it grows as an

epiphyte An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

at elevations to 500 meters. This variety is now extremely rare in its natural habitat. * ''Vanda sanderiana'' var. ''froebeliana'' Cogn. in Dict. Icon. des. Orch.Vanda t. 12 a (1903) :This variety has bright

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

flower stalks and has very large flowers compared to the species. The lateral sepals are bright yellow, with rose coloration towards the margins and densely covered with large purple reticulated veins. The dorsal sepal and petals are rose-colored on the upper half, while the lower half has brownish-purple spots. * ''Vanda sanderiana'' var. ''labello-viridi'' Linden & Rodigas in Lindenia 1:85, t (1885) 40. ''Esmeralda sanderiana'' var. ''labello-viridi'' Will :This variety is similar to the species, with the exception that the lip or labellum is green with crimson stripes.

Distribution

''Vanda sanderiana'' is endemic to

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

in the provinces of Davao,

Cotabato Cotabato, formerly and still commonly referred to as North Cotabato and officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, regi ...

, and Zamboanga where it is found on the trunks of

dipterocarp Dipterocarpaceae is a family of flowering plants with 22 genera and about 695 known species of mainly lowland tropical forest trees. Their distribution is pantropical, from northern South America to Africa, the Seychelles, India, Indochina, Indo ...

trees at elevations below 500 meters. Over-collected, the plant is considered rare in nature. It is often used in hybridization.

Use

Symbolism

In 2004, a motion was filed in the

House of Representatives of the Philippines The House of Representatives (; '','' thus commonly referred to as ''Kamara'') is the lower house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the Senate of the Philippines as the upper house. The ...

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 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 ...

alongside the sampaguita. However, the House Bill 5655 was vetoed by President

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Aquino III (; born Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines ...

citing that other means were available to promote the protection and preservation of the orchid without declaring it a second national flower.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q15188539, from2=Q28816353 Vanda Epiphytic orchids Endemic orchids of the Philippines Flora of Mindanao National symbols of the Philippines