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Friday, August 04, 2006
Decorative plant gets Arroyo's name
THE University of the Philippines Los Baņos (UPLB) named a mussaenda hybrid ornamental shrub after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Mussaendas, which are often used in landscaping, are ornamental shrubs with one or more of their sepals developing into a large colorful petaloid structure.
They bloom almost throughout the year, except from January to March, and are very much sought after in tropical countries.
They are traditionally named after First Ladies, although some hybrids were given Filipino names like "Diwata", "Paraluman", "Lakambini", and "Maria Clara".
The Mussaenda Queen Sirikit was named after the Thai queen when she visited the UP College of Agriculture in 1963.
The mussaenda Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, which was bred by Dr. Teresita Rosario, was named in 2001 after the Chief Executive. The flower had oblong to elliptic petals which are empire rose to claret rose in some areas while below, the petals are creamy white with very light pink hairs.
The plant was named after the President because it has the smallest petals among the other hybrids, only 15 to 18 millimeters in length. It does not have any scent.
It is the first mussaenda named after a Philippine president to be registered with the agriculture department's National Seed Industry Council.
It is the product of a cross between the M. Doņa Aurora variety, a spontaneous mutant found in Mt. Makiling in 1915 and named after the wife of Former President Manuel Quezon in 1938, and the M. Doņa Evangelina, with solid red flowers named in 1962 after Arroyo's mother.
The Doņa Evangelina variety is the most beautiful but hardest to propagate. Like her child, the M. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is also hard to propagate and can only be reproduced by grafting, unlike other hybrids that can be reproduced by stem cuttings.
Rosario said mussaendas are quite pricey, costing more or less P1,000 in nurseries but the Mussaenda GMA is not yet available in the market.
The President received the hybrid mussaenda variety from Rosario, UP president Emerlinda Roman, and UP Chancellor Luis Rey Velasco. First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo was present when the plant was turned over to the President.
Rosario said the Mussaenda Corazon C. Aquino, which has solid red but large flowers, has not been presented to the former President nor registered with the DA.
The Mussaenda Doņa Luisa, which is named after former First Lady now senator Dr. Luisa Ejercito Estrada, is still in the hybrid development stage,
The Mussaenda Ginang Imelda, which was named after former First Lady Imelda Marcos is greenish to creamy white along the veins, and suffused with orient pink along the veins, with small reddish to pink hairs. "Ginang" is a Filipino address for women of distinction in the Visayan region.
Another plant that was named after President Arroyo was the GMA "President" Cattleya hybrid, which has lilac outer petals with yellow inner petals.
The orchid was among the plants exhibited by Malvarosa Orchids, a farm owned by the family of former Batangas congressman Hernando Perez, Arroyo's former justice secretary, during the Flora Filipina Expo at the WOW Philippines in Intramuros, Manila last February 23 to March 6. (JMR/Sunnex)
(August 4, 2006 issue)
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