I am back from my trip to Hong Kong! It was a really nice trip. I got to eat a lot of great food, tour around, see a lot of things and experience a different Christmas from what I know.
On my wanderings around the city I was lucky enough to find one of the Orchid trees that are the landmark of the city. The Bauhinia blakeana (Chinese: 洋紫荊) is the floral emblem of Hong Kong. It appears in Hong Kong coins, the flag, the coat of arms and it even has a statue made in its honor.
Here is a little of what I found about the tree
The Bauhinia blakeana, or Hong Kong orchid tree (香港蘭), is an evergreen tree from the genus Bauhinia, It has large thick leaves and purplish red flowers. It is very fragrant, orchid-like flowers around 10-15 cm across, and blooms from early November to the end of March. It is sterile (does not produce seed), and is a hybrid between Bauhinia variegata and Bauhinia purpurea. The tree prefers a sheltered sunny position with good soil. Propagation is done by cuttings and air-layering.
The cultivation of this tree originated in Hong Kong in 1880, intensify in 1914 with some heavy planting around the city, and then spread world wide from there. It is said that all of the cultivated trees derive from one cultivated at the Hong Kong Botanic Gardens.
It is a very beautiful tree, no wonder why they choose it as their emblem. Any landmark/emblem plants from your cities?
Hong Kong from Victoria Peak
On my wanderings around the city I was lucky enough to find one of the Orchid trees that are the landmark of the city. The Bauhinia blakeana (Chinese: 洋紫荊) is the floral emblem of Hong Kong. It appears in Hong Kong coins, the flag, the coat of arms and it even has a statue made in its honor.
Hong Kong orchid tree
Here is a little of what I found about the tree
The Bauhinia blakeana, or Hong Kong orchid tree (香港蘭), is an evergreen tree from the genus Bauhinia, It has large thick leaves and purplish red flowers. It is very fragrant, orchid-like flowers around 10-15 cm across, and blooms from early November to the end of March. It is sterile (does not produce seed), and is a hybrid between Bauhinia variegata and Bauhinia purpurea. The tree prefers a sheltered sunny position with good soil. Propagation is done by cuttings and air-layering.
Hong Kong Flag
The cultivation of this tree originated in Hong Kong in 1880, intensify in 1914 with some heavy planting around the city, and then spread world wide from there. It is said that all of the cultivated trees derive from one cultivated at the Hong Kong Botanic Gardens.
It is a very beautiful tree, no wonder why they choose it as their emblem. Any landmark/emblem plants from your cities?
my country's national flower is the red hibiscus. i have one pot of it. it's red silky petal is stunning. i even made a painting of it.
ReplyDeleteInteresting facts about the flower, i thought HK national flower was 杜鹃花 haha. Our country national flower is Hibiscus, and my city's flower is Bougainvillea.
ReplyDeleteI went to Hong Kong many years ago with my parents but I remember seeing these trees for the first time and just being stunned. I love Bauhinias in general but Bauhinia x blakeana is the most impressive, at least to my mind.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had a good trip! I've tried to grow bauhinia from seed before but I guess it wasn't the same kind you've pictured since yours is sterile.
ReplyDeleteThe view from Victoria peak is awesome!
ReplyDeleteHappy New year to you!
Welcome home fer! I love that first shot - exceptional! Probably the most recognized plant/flower here in Austin would be the bluebonnet which will bloom in the spring.
ReplyDeleteVery nice view from Victoria Park, nice shot! My national (Malaysia) flower is Red Hibiscus and my state (Penang) flower is Paphiopedilum Barbatum (Slipper Orchid).
ReplyDeleteBauhinia blakeana is very beautiful tree and there are lot of specimens in our city lahore, pakistan. Other species of bauhinia are also common here.
ReplyDeleteHi Fer; Your view of HK is very nostalgic for me. I spent several years there in the 1970s & 1980s. Looks like there are some taller buildings than I remember. Hope you had some good Dim Sum!
ReplyDeleteOur national flower in England is the Rose (though I think this is unofficial). Scotland has the Thistle. And of course the Welsh national emblem is not a flower at all, but a veg: the Leek.
The Welsh have the daffodil too.
ReplyDeleteThe orchid is beautiful Fer. I don't think I'd be happy in Hong Kong although it looks beautiful - I'm not really happy in cities.
Great to get to know other cities and countries emblem flowers and plants!
ReplyDeleteMexico national flower is the Dahlia. I just found that when I was researching for this post.
The Hong Kong Orchid Tree does look very special Fer. The Scottish national plant is the very humble(Thistle)Aberdeen where I live was always known as the city of Roses.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting me.
ReplyDeleteFantastic an orchid Tree , amazing.
Beautiful flowers too.
I hope that you´ll have a Happy New Year.
Gunilla
Hi Fer welcome back from your holidays! I have seen the tree in Malaysia too, love the purple flowers.But I didnt know that its an orchid variety, or is it just its common name there..
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful bloom. In the States there is the state flower and tree and bird...some of which grace the state flags.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comments!
ReplyDeletep3chandan~ the tree is not an orchid is just the name.
Janet~ What are the flower, tree and bird from your state?
Looks like you had a fantastic time in Hong Kong. I like the flower colour. What a wonderful view from up that peak. All my fellow Malaysian has commented that our National flower is the red hibiscus.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have a flower emblem for Edinburgh that I'm aware of. As Mark says, the thistle is the emblem of Scotland.
ReplyDeleteYour flower photos are a lovely souvenir of your HK trip.
This is my first visit to your blog.
ReplyDeleteLove the pictures and value your information!!
The flowers of the Hong Kong orchid tree are stunning.
- Greetings from Canada
and Happy New Year.
I live in Pennsylvania, USA, where the state tree is the eastern hemlock and the state flower is the mountain laurel---both exceedingly beautiful. Thanks for showing us the orchid tree. Carolyn
ReplyDeleteThe orchid tree sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteNow you have me wondering what is New Jersey's flower. Don't think there's one for the nation.
Hope you had fun on your trip.
New York State's flower is the rose. But my city has our own flower - Oswego Tea. Also called bergamot or monarda or bee balm. The story goes that native Americans used this flower for tea, thus - Oswego Tea.
ReplyDeleteHello Fer.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very beautiful flower indeed and thanks for the write-up.
The Philippines' national flower is locally called 'Sampaguita' (Jasminum sambac) and the state flower of Utah is the 'Sego lily' (Calochortus nuttallii)
I love orchid trees. I have been collecting a couple different different varieties, some I started from seeds. I am hoping the seedlings will be old enough to bloom this year. I live just down the road from The Whimsical Gardener - where Texas Bluebonnet "Lupinus texensis" is our state flower. Alas, only a spring bloomer. Happy New Year to you!
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteMy daughter would be green with envy! She wants to go to Hong Kong someday.
The city is beautiful, as is the flower photo.
Colorado's state flower is the Columbine, purple.
Those orchid tree blossoms are lovely! Beautiful dramatic view of Hong Kong.
ReplyDeleteThe state flower of the state of North Carolina is the Flowering Dogwood, and a nickname for the capitol city Raleigh (about a half an hour from us) is the City of Oaks.
The orchid tree is beautiful, glad you found them. Here in New York, the state flower is the rose. Funny, on my post today I asked a similar question, if people knew their state tree. In New York it is the Sugar Maple.
ReplyDeleteWe have bauhinias around town that are prominent parts of the flowering landscape. They're stunning trees in bloom. Ours are lighter pink and probably not this particular hybrid. It's interesting that they play such a big role in Hong Kong's identity!
ReplyDeleteHi! HK is the place to eat and shop. Did you get anything interesting? Of course, you didn't bring home any orchids. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeletethat flower is really stunning. Easy to understand it is the emblem of the city.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
Happy New Year fer, stunning photo of the HK skyline, and I am in love with that orchid tree, beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHi Fer, your shot from Victoria Peak is awesome, i've not been there again for quite sometime. I did not know about that emblem for Hongkong, but some people might think that Bauhinia blakeana is really an orchid. That is a misnomer, just a common name because the flower looks like an orchid. We also have other Bauhinia species here in the Philippines and we have big indigenous Bauhinia trees also. The leaves of Bauhinia also looks like butterflies.
ReplyDeleteIs so great to have so many of your comments. thank you very much!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that so many places had a national flowers and plants and that they were so diverse. I wonder if there is a place where I can see a map of all them at once.
hi Fer, over here in england i guess it is definately the rose..interesting post and i am glad you enjoyed Hong Kong...
ReplyDeletealoha fer,
ReplyDeletebauhinia is also one of my favorite trees, i have one that is white flowered and it is quite stunning...this purple variety blooms all over east hawaii especially in hilo.
Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThe orchid tree is quite a popular specimen in Southern California gardens.
One day I hope to visit Hong Kong: thanks for taking me there, Fer:-))
Cheers,
Alice
Happy New Year, Fer! What a fantastic shot from Victoria Peak ... what a great night-time view! The flowers of the Bauhinia blakeana are just so beautiful ... and your photo is lovely!
ReplyDeleteMy home state of Queensland has an Orchid as its floral emblem - the Cooktown Orchid. Of course Australia has a Wattle as its national emblem ... the Golden Wattle.
And I'm also from Queensland, where Bauhinia blakeana bloom so well.
ReplyDeleteI have grown them from seed.
As for Cooktown Orchid..mine are in bloom at the moment, I will upload photo to my blog today.
Incredible, if I had only seen the picture of its flowers I would certainly say it is an orchid. The similarity is amazing. Our country's national flower is the rose, and my state's flower is the flowering dogwood. Here are some most popular orchid types and other orchid resources.
ReplyDeleteGreat to find your blog !
ReplyDeleteI love Bauhinia, this is one of my favourite trees... I found several B. variegata in Antibes & Menton in South France, in botanical gardens. I'm now one of your blog followers.
Talk to you soon between Japan & France :-)
Gabriel