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Bauhinia blakeana
The commonly called Hong Kong Orchid tree, Chinese Camel’s Toe Orchid, Chinese Hong Kong Orchid, or the Bauhinia Tropical Orchid (Bauhinia blakeana),[1] is a hybrid leguminous tree of the genus Bauhinia. It has large thick leaves and striking purplish red flowers. The fragrant, orchid-like flowers are usually 10 to 15 centimetres (3.9 to 5.9 in) across, and bloom from early November to the end of March. Although now cultivated in many areas, it originated in Hong Kong in 1880 and apparently all of the cultivated trees derive from one cultivated at the Hong Kong Botanical Gardens and widely planted in Hong Kong starting in 1914.[2] It is referred to as Bauhinia in non-scientific literature though this is the name of the genus. It is sometimes called the Hong Kong orchid (香港蘭). In Hong Kong, it is most commonly referred to by its Chinese name of "洋紫荊". So therefore within the Autonomous Constituent country of Hong Kong (HKSAR) it is both the designate Subnational flower and tree of the Nationalist Hongkongese Devolved Home-State-Local Rule[n 1].
Usage as an emblem[edit]
Since 1997 the flower appears on Hong Kong's coat of arms, its flag and its coins; its Chinese name has also been frequently shortened as 紫荊/紫荆 (洋 yáng means 'foreign' in Chinese, and this would be deemed inappropriate by the PRC government[citation needed]), although 紫荊/紫荆 refers to another genus called Cercis. A statue of the plant has been erected in Golden Bauhinia Square in Hong Kong. Although the flowers are bright pinkish purple in colour, they are depicted in white on the Flag of Hong Kong. Hong Kong Airlines uses BAUHINIA as its callsign.
The endemic plant of Hong Kong was introduced to Taiwan in 1967. In 1984 it was chosen to be the city flower of Chiayi City, in southwestern Taiwan.
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References[edit]
- ↑ [{{#property:P1421|}} "Bauhinia × blakeana"]. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 15 December 2017.
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Notes[edit]
