Patented Orchid Hybrid Named After Kelantan Sultanah

KOTA BHARU, Oct 8 (Bernama) -- Sultanah of Kelantan, Sultanah Nur Diana Petra, has chosen her name to be patented for an orchid named the Vandachostylis Sultanah Nur Diana Petra.

The Kelantan state government patented the name with the Royal Horticultural Society, based in the United Kingdom, on Oct 4.

State Agriculture, Agro-food Industry and Commodity Committee chairman Datuk Tuan Mohd Saripudin Tuan Ismail said that the Sultanah selected the flower after being presented with several options, including different names.

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He explained that the registration of the orchid's name must be completed in the United Kingdom.

"The orchid is an international flower, and it cannot be simply registered," he told reporters at the opening ceremony of the Kelantan Flora Festival, held in conjunction with the 55th birthday celebrations of Sultan Muhammad V at Taman Perbandaran Tengku Anis today.

Earlier, Sultanah Nur Diana officiated the opening ceremony for the Flora Festival and spent nearly two hours visiting the exhibition area, where participants showcased their creativity in decorating their respective booths with various flowers.

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The Vandachostylis Sultanah Nur Diana Petra orchid is a hybrid between the female parent Vandachostylis Prapawan and the male parent Vanda Ratchaburi Blue. This cross-pollinating was conducted in July 2021, and the orchid bloomed for the first time on March 8.

The female parent, Vandachostylis Prapawan, is an intergeneric hybrid orchid resulting from the cross between Vandachostylis Tham Yuen Hae and Vanda Coerulea. Meanwhile, Vanda Ratchaburi Blue is a commercially hybridised bluish-purple orchid created from a cross between Vanda Sirilak and Vanda Coerulea.

Vandachostylis Sultanah Nur Diana Petra produces blue-purple and maroon flowers featuring purple columns and striped patterns on the sepals, and the labellum is white.

The flowers are round, with clustered sepals measuring between eight to nine centimetres on a sturdy flower stem. Each flower spike can produce six to eight orchid blooms lasting over a month on the plant.

-- BERNAMA