Malayan Orchid Review - Volume 49 (2015 Edition)

Volume 49(2015 Edition)

Gillian Su-Wen Khew

• Publisher: WSPC
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9789814749961
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Science General
• Index: Biological Sciences

The Malayan Orchid Review is an annual publication of the Orchid Society of South East Asia, based in Singapore. Its coverage reflects the aims of the Society, which include the advancement of orchid science and orchid conservation, as well as orchid culture and appreciation. It also promotes the interests of hybridisers and commercial growers.

The MOR covers reports on orchid shows around the region, new species and hybrid descriptions, articles on orchid biology, conservation and culture, etc. It is the only comprehensive full colour orchid journal published in English in South East Asia.

The Malayan Orchid Review is an annual publication of the Orchid Society of South East Asia, based in Singapore. Its coverage reflects the aims of the Society, which include the advancement of orchid science and orchid conservation, as well as orchid culture and appreciation. It also promotes the interests of hybridisers and commercial growers.

The MOR covers reports on orchid shows around the region, new species and hybrid descriptions, articles on orchid biology, conservation and culture, etc. It is the only comprehensive full colour orchid journal published in English in South East Asia.

Readership: Researchers, students and lay people interested in orchid biology and commercial growing of orchids, as well as floriculturists.

Fifty years of hybridising in an independent Singapore

John Elliott

The earliest hybrid from Singapore was recorded in 1893. Regular hybridising only started in 1928, with the introduction of the then new method of in vitro sterile cultivation of seeds in agar medium. Although disrupted by the War and its aftermath, the record of hybridising grew from then on. However, it was the 4^th World Orchid Conference in 1963 that really gave fresh impetus to the emergence of what was to become an energetic and diverse half-century of hybridising, whether professional, commercial or amateur. That year, 1963, was of course the year Malaysia was formed, with Singapore a part of it. But after two further years of uneasy and at times turbulent politics, Singapore separated from Malaysia by mutual if regretful agreement, and declared its independence on 9 Aug 1965. Up to that date around 450 orchid hybrids had been registered from Singapore. In the 50 years that followed, a further 2,550 were added. This amounts to an average rate of 51 new registrations every year, or almost one a week. Of these, the vast majority (though not all) are plants actually bred in Singapore.

From this record, creditable as the contribution from a country of around 3 million for most of the last half century, a number of plants stand out that we can think of as heritage orchids – orchids notable for their quality or popularity, or which were associated with important names or events. In this article I trace 50 years of orchids registered by numerous Singapore breeders that could qualify as heritage, and offer a little national and orchid history along the way.

1965Sappanara (now Paranthera) Ahmad Zahab

(Pararachnis Eric Holttum x Renanthera storiei) (orig. S.Y. Alsagoff). The genus Sappanara honours Bajuri bin Sappan who was a lab assistant at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and responsible for making many crosses. He was also the awards secretary of what was then the Malayan Orchid Society, being succeeded in 1967 by Syed Yusof Alsagoff, who originated and registered this hybrid. Ahmad Zahab was a horticultural officer in the Gardens, so this orchid honours two persons. Sappanara combines Arachnis, Phalaenopis and Renanthera, but the original cross used Paraphalaenopsis which was at that time registered under Phalaenopsis. Now that Paraphalaenopsis is registered separately from Phalaenopis, Ahmad Zahab is now a Paranthera. The originator (Alsagoff) is Singapore’s most prolific individual breeder, exceeded only by the Singapore Botanic Gardens. This cross, by commemorating two ordinary working Singaporeans, fittingly coincides with the start of independence, fought for and won on a program of democratic socialism.

1966Dendrobium Siah Ko-Ko

(Ethel Kawamoto x Constance) (orig. Lee Kim Siah/K.K. Lee). The registrant, Lee Kim Bak, is a commercial grower who specialises in cut flowers, especially for the Japanese market. His business exemplifies the commercial benefit of orchid hybridisation in Singapore, which became a multi-million dollar export earner over the years, now less so on account of the costs of land and labour. The originator is his brother. The orchid has proved a favoured parent with breeders, with 30 registered offspring to date. The name commemorates a manufacturer and dealer in flower pots.

1967Aranda Majula

(Arachnis Maggie Oei x Vanda insignis) (orig. Singapore Botanic Gardens). ‘Majulah Singapura’, meaning ‘let Singapore Progress’, is the title of the National Anthem, so this orchid was patriotically named. The HCC awarded clone, ‘Rimau’ (Tiger), was exhibited by the Botanic Gardens in 1973, who were understandably proud of it.

1968Papilionanda Ho Kwong Yew

(Vanda Rothschildiana x Papilionanda Chew Gim Tuan) (orig. Koh Keng Hoe Orchid Nursery). Ho Kwong Yew was a successful architect, a keen orchid grower, and one time president of the Society of Chinese Artists (Singapore). He was a philanthropist who supported the China Relief Fund to support China in the Sino-Japanese War. Many such supporters (though not Mr Ho) were later killed in the notorious Sook Ching massacre during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. The experience of the Occupation did much to politicise the generation of politicians who were eventually to lead Singapore to its independence.

1969Renanstylis Kwan Ching Lam

(Renanthera matutina x Rhynchostylis gigantea) (orig. C.Y. Mok). This was the earliest Renanstylis registered from Singapore. The registrant, Adam Orchids Nursery, was subsequently lost to road widening. The economic development of Singapore has wrought immense changes to the built landscape, and the price of development has often been the loss of private land.

1970Aranda Elizabeth Douglas-Home

(Arachnis Maggie Oei x Vanda Radman) (orig. SBG). Elizabeth Douglas-Home was the wife of the former British Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home, who served from 1963-64. It is a nice example of the VIP orchids that have become a signature feature of the Botanic Gardens’ orchid involvement, the first being Aranthera Anne Black in 1957.

1971 Dendrobium Sirima Bandaranaike (Herbert Ong x lasianthera) (orig. SBG). Another example of a VIP orchid. In this case, Mrs Bandaranaike was the wife of the then Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, but he was assassinated in 1959, and she succeeded him in office in 1960, thus becoming the first woman prime minister of the modern era. This orchid is one of our earlier hybrids with Den. lasianthera, which makes a good parent giving size and strong colouration to its offspring.

1972Aerides Amy Ede

(lawrenceae x leeana) (orig. Mrs Gracia Lewis). Amy Ede was the daughter of John Laycock. With Lee Kim Hong, Laycock had established a large orchid garden at Mandai, and after his death, this continued as Singapore Orchids Pte. Ltd. This garden was important in establishing orchids as cut flowers, and also in hybridising. It was at one time the largest orchid nursery in Singapore. The Mandai premises maintained a large collection of older hybrids until recent years, but finally closed in 2011. Max and Gracia Lewis were long time stalwarts of the then Malayan Orchid Society. Max Lewis was the manager of Fraser & Neave, whose soft drinks were familiar to all post-war Singaporeans. His w...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Viewpoint: Singapore events of 2015 and their orchid hybrids
• Awards
• New Hybrids
• Shows around the region Sanya, Tainan, Sydney, Kuching
• Fifty years of hybridising in an independent Singapore
• The 17th European Orchid Conference and Show
• A post-conference tour
• The breeding achievements from
• Conservation and re-introduction of Cymbidium finlaysonianum in Singapore
• First potter wasp pollination record of Pomatocalpa diffusum
• An interesting albino form of Bulbophyllum ornatissimum from northern Myanmar
• Innovative Oncidiinae breeding in Australia
• Orchid expedition to Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia
• Paphiopedilum in Borneo: Two unusual species
• Ng Boon Kwang – doubly awarded for innovation and creativity
• Majeed Khadaroo (1924 - 2014) – his life, passions and achievements
• Christopher Teo, the full-time hobbyist
• Seldom seen orchids which are a pleasure to grow
• Vanda stangeana, Consul Gustav Wilhelm Schiller and Franz F. Stange
• Book Reviews
• Grosourdya multistrata, a new orchid species from Sulawesi and Borneo
• Office Bearers