During her three-day visit to Singapore, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi was presented with an orchid hybrid that was named in her honor at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
In Singapore, presenting heads of states with orchid hybrids named after them is common. According to Singapore’s National Parks Board, the act “serves as a gesture of friendship to promote goodwill between Singapore and other countries.”
So what exactly does the Suu Kyi flower look like? Well, first off, its official name is the Papilionanda Aung San Suu Kyi, and it’s a hybrid of the Papilionanda Josephine van Brero and the Vanda Varut Fuchsia.
According to the board, it is a “robust and free flowering hybrid.”
“The sepals and petals are a delightful pastel bluish purple adorned variously with fine purple spots and tessellations, each bloom is complemented by a prominent waxy reddish purple lip.”Sounds fancy.
Other notable figures who have had orchids named in their honor while visiting Singapore include Ban Ki-moon, Nelson Mandela, and Prince William and Kate Middleton.
It’s nice to see a busy woman like Suu Kyi taking the time to stop and smell the flowers. Good thing there are no major humanitarian crises taking place back home.
