Untitled - DOST Sci

QUEEN
OF
PHILIPPINE ORCHIDS
Tl1e Philippine Science Heritage Center is a project of
the Philippine N;Jtional Acaden1y of Science and Technology.
The CE'nler will highlight the in1portant contributions of the
Philippines to the world of science tor a better tomorrow. In
agriculture alone, the Philippines has significant contribution-,.
not known to many Filipinos that have affected their live,.
The inventive qenius of the Filipino i.-, hardly known in the
Philippines. These vvill be collected and highlighted.
The objective of the center is to elicit a sense of pride
in every Filipino who visits the center- a feeling of greatnes':>
in the richness of our science heritage. The plan is to develop
an exhibition area in the Department of Science and Technology.
To those unable to visit the center, vvritten materials
on the different contributions of the Philippines to the
scientific vvorld vvill be publi~hed. Such publications can also
be used by the ~c_hoob in tedc.hing values education vvith
scientific insights.
NaliLHwl Acaden1y of Science
aiHJ Technology, PhiJippines
Uicutan, Melru Manila
Scptcn1 bcr l 996
l l l a v e you ever admired the beauty of orchids? Their flowers corne in rnany different
bright and vibrant colors - oflen in fantastic
sprays or clusters. Maybe you.,ve seen then"1 in
gardens, or in flower arrangetnents like bouquets
and corsages.
Orchids often lend its beauty to many occasions and are widely seen the world over as
having sorne of the 1nost beautiful bloon-.s
an1ong all plants. Thus, orchids are also found in
botanical gardens around the world and arc
collected for their spectacular blooms.
One of the most beautiful orchids in the world,
waling-waling is the tropical orchid that has
contributed most to the production of other
outstanding orchids. The waling-waling has
produced rnany of what scientists call Vanda
cultivars. A "cultivar" is any plant that is the
product of the cross-breeding of two parent
plants.
The Vanda is a group of orchids with strap leaves
that are arranged along one plane on a single
grow1:h from the stem. Most of the new exciting
Vanda Sanderiana
Vanda Lamellata
Vandas have waling-waling ( Varzda sanderiana) as
on_e of its parents or ancestor.
-when Spaniards occupied the country. During
this tin-.e, exotic plant exploration sent many
plant hunters fron-. Europe to tropical countries
like the Philippines. Competition was fierce to
discover exotic plants. Often, prerniurn prizes and
prices were offered for these fabulous plants.
In 1876, 1-'rederick Sander opened a plant
nursery in St. Albans, England and sent his men
to different parts of the world to look for new
orchids. Another plant enthusiast by the nan1e of
Low was one of Sander's biggest con1petitor. Both
Sander and Low hired other people to spy on the
other's work. They spied on different things like
what new plants have just been collected, where
the plant was collected and by whon1 - anything
for big rnoney and fc1.rne. The spying between the
two plant nurseries was unbelievable! And Sander
greatly enjoyed these espionage 'battles'. The
challenge made the business more interesting and
certainly heated up the race to rnore plant
discoveries.
OUTSTANDING QUALITIES
What makes the waling-waling so popular?
or all the orchids, the waling-waling has the
rnuch sought after round shape with overlapping
petals and sepals. The large flowers are flat and
ideal for corsage 1naking. No other Vanda orchid
has these outstanding qualities.
Waling-waling was originally found growing
wild only in the Philippines but, because of its
beauty and popularity, it is now grown and used all
over the world to improve the quality of orchids.
How waling-waling was discovered in Mindanao is
an exciting story of adventure and surprises.
We go hack in tin-.e to the late 19th centuryaround the time of our National Hero Jose Rizal
DANGER IN MINDANAO
Sander heard of Mindanao - the exotic plants
and butterflies have attracted many collectors but
few have ventured deep into the interior. And of
the few who tried, many did not return. The
ethnic communities and tribes were considered
by the explorers as hostile. Even the Spaniards
who claimed sovereignty over the local people f(>r
many years did not venture far from their own
settlements along the coast.
Sander eagerly read every detail he could get
about Mindanao and he was convinced that the
climate, terrain and altitude n-.ade a perfect setting
for orchids of a type not yet known to science.
" Perhaps Mindanao had
orchids with a beauty yet
unseen ," thought Sander.
The excited Sander
wanted to send one of his best
explorers to Mindanao but he
faced y e t another problem:
u:: ;~_J.I-....-fi" sailing to
MINDANAO
started his
he worked
King and learned his science very well. Roebelin
6
7
linguist so he could easily pick up the local
language or dialect, and any inforn:1ation pertaining to his n1ission.
Roebelin arrived in Cota-bato, now probably
Cotabato City, in early 1880. The Spanish settlers
enjoyed his company since there w-ere tCw visitors
from Europe and n•any of the Spaniards had not
been home since they settled in the Philippines.
The Spaniards helped Roebelin with his plans to
travel to the interior although they did not think it
was feasible since the settlers considered the
natives fCrocious.
Roebelin, nevertheless, was not to be put
down. UI n1ust find a rare orchid," he said to
hirnsclC But before he had set oft~ he heard
run1ors of a beautiful red orchid supposedly
growing in the jungles near the north coast.
Irnn•ediately he decided that a red orchid w·as
sornething new and exciting. Besides, he thought,
the north coast was probably less dangerous. So
he postponed his travel to the interior and
travelled halfvvay around the island, a journey of
son:1e 1 )000 kilon~eters, in a sn1.al1 native craft probably a vinta.
In due course, he reached the port of Surigao
which is at the northeastern tip of Mindanao.
Here both the Spanish settlers and the locals were
fmniliar with orchids but never heard of a red one.
Roebelin was frustrated. Had the Renan.theras, or
'Fire orchids: on the coast of Surigao been in
hlootn at that tirne, he would have seen brilliant
sprays of red flowers. Such scenes, according to
n1odern plant collectors, could still be seen 20
years ago.
Using his linguistic skills, he found out that
on the banks of Lake Lanao there were an:wzing
orchids with flowers as big as dinner plates.
Roebelin's quest was rekindled: "As big as dinner
plates!" he thought. The Spaniards inforrned
Roe be lin that the people who lived around the
lake were Subanos. According to the Spaniards,
the Subanos lived in terror of a rival con1.n1.unity
called the Bagobos. The Spanish thought that the
Subanos would welcon~e European visitors to
help protect them fron1 the fierce Bagobos.
Despite the odds, Roebelin decided that the lake
must be his first objective.
Roebclin was lucky to find a guide- a Chinese
trader called Sarn Choon who had debts to collect
fi·orn the Subanos. He \Nas even luckier because
Sarn spoke fairly good English. This was a rarity
in the Philippines at that tin•e.
To reach Lake Lanao, Roebelin, with a crew
of Chinese and son:1.e locals, \Vent up one of
Lanao's rivers by boat.Things went srnoothly and
after rnany days Roebelin and his crew were
sailing across the smooth waters of Lake Lanao.
Since the weather was good, Roebelin vvas confident that his search for orchids was now at hand.
SUDDEN STORM
Then, as Roebclin and his crew rnade their
vvay across big Lake Lanao, the storrn. clouds
started funning and Roebelin was convinced that
a storn1 would hit then1 soon. "We rnust head
towards the nearest shore," suggested Roebelin to
Sam and the rest of the crew. Sam ignored the
warning and instead continued on to the distant
Subano village where he hoped to collect his
debts.
Sure enough, their boat was caught by a
squall before they could reach land. Their boats
quickly filled up with water and, in the instant
the squall was gone, Roebelin's boat began to
sink. Was Roebelin's quest to end here?
Suddenly, the Subanus, who had seen the
foreigners were in trouble, quickly can1e to the
rescue. They escorted the travellers to shore and
n:Lurned to dive for the cargo losl in the sinking
boat.
Exhausted and vvet> Rocbclin \..vas looking
forward to a 1-cstful evening. Thankful for the
rescue, he sat down on the floor of one of the
Subano huts. Subanos built their hon~es on stilts
wrapping then1 around trees. Their houses vvere
usual I y 1 5 rneters high and this
protected then~ frorn rnosq ui loe~
and attacks fl-on1 neighboring
con1n1unities.
It was dark outside the hut but
he kneV\r San~ was thc•-c hccau~e he
could hear his loud voice. An
argument was going on bctvvccn one
of the Subanos and the Chinan~an.
As it heated up, Sarn suddenly
rushed into the hut and asked
Roebelin to act as a referee. The
problen1 was: the Subanos had taken
some cloth and European goods
fran~ San1's earlier visit. Now~ they
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were due to pay honey, wax and gurns in the
trade. The Subanos were now bargaining w-ith
San">, bitterly disputing the price. "Another
Chinese man arrived selling the san,e goods at a
rnuch cheaper price!", clain1ed the Subanos. They
wanted to return the bulk of San"l's goods and pay
fOr the rest at a reduced rate.
Naturally, Sam was angered. HYou exan1.ined
the goods and we had agreed on a price!':
exclairned San>. The Subanos were not to be
convinced. Meanwhile, Roebelin did not want to
get involved and instead asked for understanding.
"Why are you quarelling over some honey and
gt.u11.s?,: asked Roebelin. 'l'he truth was, even iC
the natives paid at the lower rate, San, would still
rnake a large pr·ofit. nut San"l would not budge, a
deal is a deal, and so the argurncnt went on.
Then sorTie crew n1.ernbers rushed over and
pointed out to Sarn the cloth sold by the other
Chinese trader. It had the mark "Hoey': the n"lark
or trade guild that Sam belonged
to. Hoey was affiliated to one of
the great secret societies in China,
and their rules of honor were
strict. One of their rules was they
were n"lade to swear that they will
kill anyone who wrongs a fellow
n"letnber. And when they realized
that another Hoey had undersold
them, Sarn and his crew called out
for the punishrnent of such
treachery: death.
Sarn suspected that the
Subanos were hiding the other
trader in the village and this
proved to be true. The Chinese
12
wanted the Subanos to surrender hirn, but the
Suhanos reCused to. "Where is he?!? Bring hin1
out!", demanded San-., and his crew. The
Chinan'len wanted the blood of their rival but
I he laws of hospitality were strict an1ong
Subanos and in the face of the Chinar"l~en's
threats, they dr-ew spears and funned
line. The Suba:nos were willing to kill
I heir hospitality. A fight to death now
inevitable and Roebelin was caught in
a battle
to honor
seerned
the rniddle,
not knowing what to do.
THE BAGOBOS ATTACK
Suddenly there was a distant blast on a
cowhorn: the Bagohos were about to attack! Back
then, it was a true honor for a Bagobo to fight in
battle. A Bagoho who has killed two or n"lore
persons in a battle was called a "mangani" and
would wear a robe dyed blood red.
The Subanos, in response, let out a great
13
For th_e n1.on"1ent, the danger was over.
The argun,ent with Sarn was forgotten lost in the victory celebration.
REST FOR THE NIGHT
In the celebration, Roebelin was not
able to find a place to sleep tor the rest of
the night. J~Ie was sitting by the fire when
the Sultan carne over and led hirn to the
foot of a large tree. At the top of the tree
was a large house on stilts and following
the Sultan, he climbed its rickety ladder.
Inside the house, Roebelin was given
a rnat to lie on for the night. It was dark
and he was not quite sure how n,any
people were in the tree house. As soon as
his head was rested, his thoughts raced.
"Any red orchids growing on the branches
outside?", he asked hir:nself. "Will I find
son1e tomorrow morning?, He was also
meditating on the strange turn of events
in a single day. Soon enough, Roebelin
fell asleep.
Suddenly, huge roaring waves fron,
the lake and the cracking of the tree house
woke Roebelin up. People were shrieking
and shouting, tree branches and the tree
house's roof was falling apart. The whole
house was shaking and people where
thrown across the floor.
It was pitchblack. Roebelin, gasping
frorn the dust coming frorn the ceiling and
walls, was on his hands and knees groping
for the doorway. But the swaying floor did
not help. Suddenly, the house buckled
and it seemed that it would completely
17
collapse. Thinking quickly, Roebelin
tied hirnself to a tree branch. "Is this a
Bagobo attack?'~ thought Roebdin. "But
they cannot be shaking the tree house!
Only an earthquake can do sornething like
this! A big earthquake!" And indeed it was;
an earthquake had struck.
Eventually, he found the exit but the
ladder was gone. The only chance he had
was to stay where he was and hope to
survive until dawn. Soon the tren~ors
ended, and rnost of the Subanos in the hut
had fallen dovvn to the ground below.
Roebelin's quick thinking to tie hirnself to
the tree trunk saved his lite. It '.Vas probably
the longest night Roehelin had experienced
- the sinking of the boat, rhe danger of a
heated argurnent, the Bagobo attack and
the worst earthquake the Philippines had
evet· known, on the 14th of July, I R80.
THE DAY AFTER
Roebelin had been in the Philippines for
alrnost 6 n~onths and still there was no
exciting orchid discovery. He could only
think of survival at the mornent. Dawn
finally can:te and wondering in tear at how
rnany Subanos and crewrnernbers were still
alive, Roebelin let hirnself down and started
looking an>und. He could see that the tree
house was alrnost a con:tplete wreck. It vvas a
rniracle that he was saved frorn ti.1lling down
or being hit by the debris. The vvalls of the
house were in shreds and gr·eat gaps appeared
on the floor and ceiling. The ecHthquake had
vvreaked tremendous havoc.
18
ble since he'"was n<=lt·rcally expecting such a,spi,'X!- ,.,
erchids were h<il in.. bloorn in July, he WOLUd not
then1; and iftl1eearthqnake.- as tragic as it \Nasdestroyed the house, he·might not have· seen then1
Roebelin's trained eyes for such plants. And
if he
survive the eai'thquake it would have
this orchi_~, 'j&Q~~~:hJCl¥L¥~, been
ASCOCENDA AMELITA RAMOS
Miyamoto 1982
Pokai Victory
V. sanderiana
Princie
V. sanderiana
Ophelia
I
I
Asctm. curvifolium
I
v. sanderiana
Meda Arnold
I
V. Bill Sutton
I
I
v. Manila
I
I
V. Rothschildiana
I
I
Asctm. curvifolium
I
v. coerulea
v. sanderiana
I
v. luzonica
v. sanderiana
Philippine Science Heritage Center
BOOK SERIES
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Q
Corn Hero
Yo-yo: A Filipino Ingenuity
Pili Nut
Waling-Waling: Queen of Philippine
Orchids
Makapuno: An Adventure in Research
Super Mango: Philippine Mangoes the
Whole Year Round