National flower series -Singapore – Vanda Ms. Joaquim (Chinese: 卓锦万黛兰; pinyin: zhuójǐn wàndàilán), also known as the Singapore Orchid and the Princess Aloha Orchid is a hybrid orchid cultivar that is Singapore’s national flower

Agnes Joaquim bred this orchid which carries her name. It was recognised as a hybrid not only by orchid expert Henry Ridley in 1893 and again in 1896, but by other contemporary orchid growers as well as orchid journals including the Orchid Review. Sander’s Complete List of Orchid Hybrids, which distinguished between natural and artificial hybrids, listed Vanda ‘Miss Joaquim’ as an artificial hybrid.Vanda ‘Miss Joaquim’ is a cross between the Burmese Vanda teres and the MalayanVanda hookeriana. It is not known which of the two species produced the seeds and which one provided the pollen. The hybrid was shown to Henry Ridley, the director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Ridley examined it, had it sketched and sent a description to the Gardeners’ Chronicle writing that: ‘A few years ago Miss Joaquim, a lady residing in Singapore, well known for her success as a horticulturist, succeeded in crossing Vanda hookeriana Rchb. f., and V. teres, two plants cultivated in almost every garden in Singapore。 (sourced from Wikipedia)