Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Indonesian Floral Emblem

Lambang Bunga Nasional Indonesia

Bunga Melati (Jasminum sambac)
Jasminum sambac (syn. Nyctanthes sambac) is a species of jasmine native to southwestern and southern Asia, in the Philippines, India, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
Common names include Arabian Jasmine, Full (فل) (Arabic), Bel/Beli (Bengali), Mogra (Hindi and Marathi), Mallikā (Sanskrit), Kampupot, Melati (Malay andIndonesian Language), Sampaguita (Filipino), Mallepuvvu (Telugu), Mallikaipu (Tamil), dundu Mallige (Kannada) and Kaliyan (Urdu). The botanic name sambac is derived from a misapplication of the Sanskrit name champaka, which refers to the fragrant flowered shrub Michelia champaca.It is an evergreen vine or shrub reaching up to 1-3 m tall. The leaves are opposite or in whorls of three, simple (not pinnate, like most other jasmines), ovate, 4-12.5 cm long and 2-7.5 cm broad. The flowers are produced in clusters of 3-12 together, strongly scented, with a white corolla 2-3 cm diameter with 5-9 lobes. The flowers open at night, and close in the morning. The fruit is a purple-black berry 1 cm in diameter.
flower is known as sampaguita and was adopted by the government as its national flower in 1937. Filipinos string the flowers into leis, corsages and crowns and distill its oils and sell them in stores, streets, and outside churches. The garlands may be used to welcome guests, or as an offering or adornment in religious altars. Its oil is believed to be a cure for headache.
In Cambodia, the flower is used as an offering to the Buddha. Since 96.5% of Cambodians are Buddhists, it is widely known throughout the country. The season of the flower begins in June, the month that provides the most rain. During this month, many civilians thread the flower buds onto a wooden needle to be presented to the Buddha.
In Bengali, the flower is known as beli and is extremely popular for its sweet fragrance. It is used to make garlands to adorn women's hair. And in South India, too, they are strung into thick strands and worn as a hair adornment. In Hawaii, the flower is known as pikake, and is used to make fragrant leis.
In China, the flower is processed and used as the main ingredient in jasmine tea.


Bunga Anggrek Bulan (Moon Orchid)
Phalaenopsis amabilis, commonly known as the Moon Orchid, is a species of orchid.
It was first discovered on a small island off the east coast of New Guinea by native botanist Georgius Everhardus Rumphius in 1653; however, he named itAngraecum ablum majus. It remained undiscovered until 1825 when Karl Ludwig Blume discovered the same species and gave it the name it is known by presently. This species is usually found in the eastern to southeastern regions of Asia. Plants in this genus are typically widespread in the areas of eastern Asia, such as China and Indonesia. This particular species wide-ranges from Indonesia to Australia. In fact, this species is one of Indonesia's national flowers (along with Jasminum sambac and Rafflesia arnoldii).Plants of this genus have a uniform structure that makes the identification easy for novice botanists. Phalaenopsis amabilis, like most of the other species in this genus, has a short stem. This is believed to be an adaptation to gain the light requirements needed to grow, according to Christenson. The rooting of P. amabilis is usually unbranched. The only times it would be branched are if the roots are damaged or if the individual has gotten old in age. The leaves ofP. amabilis vary from oblong to elliptic at the base and obtuse, minutely, at the tip or apex and measures at 50 × 10 cm. The moon orchid's flower is showy, membranous, white, the lip, (the unpared petals of an orchid) which is three-lobed, and the callus are a variety of yellow and red depending on the individual plant. It is able to bloom for a long period of time and can grow up to 10 cm in diameter and more.
Phalaenopsis amabilis reproduces sexually through pollination. This plant grows its flower to attract the pollinator. It is generally pollinated by large carpenter bees from the genus Xylcopa. For this particular species in the Phalaenopsis genus the pollination frequency and success rate is high (about 50%).
P. amabilis and the other species in the same genus grow naturally in three distinct habitats. The first is in seasonally dry areas, then seasonally cool areas and last constantly moist or humid areas (Christenson), developing adaptions for each habitat. For the seasonally dry habitats, Phalaenopsis species have an extreme adaptation in which it adopts deciduous habits, losing its leaves. They do this because in dry habitats, leaves are a serious liability when water isn't easily accessible. This adaptation typically occurs in species found outside the Himalayan region. For the habitats that are seasonally cool areas, the species found there are all deciduous or semi-deciduous in nature which means these plant have a strong dormant rest period. In this dormant period, the plants have protection from the cold due to the high carbon to nitrogen ratio and low water content on the leaf tissue. The constantly moist and humid habitats are the most common places that someone can find many of the Phalaenopsis species. In this habitat, the species grow in the canopy evergreen forests. Because they grow in the canopy, the species' adaptation is growing leathery leaves to prevent desiccation and so that the plants can tolerate higher light levels than other species.
According to Dressler, the plants of this family are thought to be closely related to plants that would have been classified in the Liliaceae or the Amaryllidaceae families.


Bunga Bangkai (Rafflesia arnoldii)
Rafflesia arnoldii is a member of the genus Rafflesia. It is noted for producing the largest individual flower on earth, and a strong odor of decaying flesh - the latter point earning it the nickname of "corpse flower". It occurs only in the rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo in the Indonesian Archipelago. Although there are some plants with larger flowering organs like the Titan Arum and Talipot palm, those are technically clusters of many flowers.
Several species of Rafflesia grow in the jungles of southeast Asia, including the Philippines. Many of them are threatened or endangered. The flower ofRafflesia arnoldii is the largest which attains a diameter of around one meter (3 ft) and can weigh up to 11 kilograms (24 lb). The largest recorded flower was measured at 1.04 metres on February 11, 2010, in Malaysia on the edge of the Cameron Highlands.It lives as a parasite on the Tetrastigma vine, which grows only in primary (undisturbed) rainforests. Rafflesia lacks any observable leaves, stems or even roots, yet is still considered a vascular plant. Similar to fungi, individuals grow as thread-like strands of tissue completely embedded within and in intimate contact with surrounding host cells from which nutrients and water are obtained. Perhaps the only part of Rafflesia that is identifiable as distinctly plant-like are the flowers; although, even these are unusual since they attain massive proportions, have a reddish-brown coloration and stink of rotting flesh, which is why it was nicknamed the "corpse flower". This scent attracts insects such as flies which then pollinate the rare plant. It is not to be confused with the Titan Arum, Amorphophallus titanum, which is also commonly referred to as the "corpse flower".

source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
http://www.plantlife.org.uk/
http://national-flowers.info/
http://www.theflowerexpert.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/
http://wiyono4.blogspot.com/
http://mediaranahjaya.blogspot.com/

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