Wednesday, January 27, 2010

" Fleur "

Let's play a guessing game...

Photobucket

Can you name this flower ? ^0^

Photobucket

clue:
It has a distinct sweet and heady fragrance.
It doesn't bear seeds, the plant is cultivated by cuttings.
It's pure white in color, small, dainty, star-shaped blossoms.
The flowers open at night and wilt in less than a day.

Photobucket

another clue:
It grows on woody vines or semi-climbing shrubs, which reaches a height of 1,2 meters.
-Known in Asia for its use in teas and religious offerings, symbolizing divine hope.
-Native to southern Asia, namely, the Philippines, India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

Photobucket

more info:
It's considered to be a symbol of fidelity, purity, devotion and dedication.
It's the national flower of the Philippines and Indonesia.
In China, the flower is processed and used as the main ingredient in jasmine tea.
Scientifically known as "Jasminum sambac".

The flowers are meticulously string into leis, corsages and crowns and distill its oils and sell them in stores, streets, and outside churches.

Photobucket

Answer?!..^0^

- It's Arabian Jasmine.
- Locally known as Sampaguita.
with various names like sampagung, campopot, kulatai, ponso, lumabi, malur and manul.

- The name Sampaguita is a Spanish term that comes from the Philippino words "sumpa kita," which mean 'I promise you.'

They are often strung into fragrant garlands or given as offerings on altars, more common is you'll see them dangling from rear view mirrors serving as natural car fresheners.

trivia on sampaguita:
- It wasn’t a Filipino who proclaimed it as our natiional flower.
- On February 1, 1934, Governor-General Frank Murphy of the U.S named it as our national symbol because of its "popularity, ornamental value, fragrance, and the role it plays in the legends and traditions of the Filipino people.”

Stumble ThisFav This With TechnoratiAdd To Del.icio.usDigg ThisAdd To RedditAdd To FacebookAdd To Yahoo

8 comments:

  1. Great post arabesque...I learned something today (and palagi naman..tuwing bibisita ako) Palagi ko lang nakikita ang sampaguita pero I never had a chance to read something about it. Nice pictures,too.

    Dito nilalagyan pa nila ng perfume yan eh sobrang bango na nga.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sampaguita! I used to have them in my front yard in PI. My girl would always pick some and make a fragrant perfumes out of them. Beautiful photos! I first thought they were foxgloves.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I wouldn't have guessed in a hundred years :) Not without any help. They look beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I cannot grow this in California, I tried twice, but both died. Of course I have brown thumb.

    But the ones they sell in nurseries here have smaller blooms and doesn't smell as sweet.

    ReplyDelete
  5. A wise choice by the Governor-General. Imagine that, a flower reaching "national" status in two countries. No wonder - it looks enchanting!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I didn't know it's your national flower. Yes, I love jasmine. We call it melati or menur.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Exquisite beauty..lovely photos! Wonderful post!
    Kiki~

    ReplyDelete

thanks for sharing your thoughts! :)

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin