Sanggumay - Enigmatic Orchid

 Sanggumay - Enigmatic Orchid 

"An orchid in a deep forest sends out its fragrance even if no one is around to appreciate it." - Confucius

Dr Abe V Rotor

Sanggumay Orchid and Mackie 6

Sanggumay orchid (Dendrobium anosmum) grows with dragon fruit 

cactus clinging on coconut trunk. At home in QC 2018 

Enigma in the plant kingdom, I say,

though topmost in the phylogeny;

its independence exchanged with fancy 

at the border of reality and fantasy.  

Dendrobium anosmum or Sanggumay is an epiphytic orchid, native to Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia and New Guinea. 

The flowers are borne on leafless stems, each flower measuring about 8 cm, with mauve to purple petals, with a broad lip and a dark purple throat, exuding a characteristic raspberry fragrance. The flowering period is from February to April. 

The word Sanggumay was derived from Tagalog root words: Sangsang which means nauseating ,overpowering, stench (smell), and “Umay” or ”Gumay” meaning tired-some, surfeit , satiety. (Internet)

TRIVIA: “The word comes from Greek mythology. Orchis was the son of a satyr and a nymph. During a feast to celebrate Bacchus, Orchis drank too much wine and tried to force his attentions on a priestess. Bacchus was very displeased, and reacted by having Orchis torn to pieces. The pieces were scattered far and wide, and wherever one landed, an orchid grew." Pausing, she leaned away for a few seconds, reaching for something. Something soft and delicate touched his cracked lips.... She was applying salve with a fingertip. "Most people don't know that vanilla is the fruit of an orchid vine. We keep one in a glasshouse on the estate- it's so long that it grows sideways on the wall. When one of the flowers is full grown, it opens in the morning, and if it isn't pollinated, it closes in the evening, never to open again. The white blossoms, and the vanilla pods within them, have the sweetest scent in the world...” ― Lisa Kleypas, Cold-Hearted Rake, Internet

Theophrastus (IV-III century B.C.), pupil of Aristotle and Plato and historically recognized as the greatest botanist of antiquity, immortalized Orchis in his Historia Plantarum, officially attributing this name to the flower species. He referenced the name to the rounded shape of the two “tubers” that make up the root system of most species of this flower, similar to human testes. This feature has helped fuel popular beliefs which credited them erroneously as aphrodisiacs and possessors of healing powers for female infertility. In Roman medicine, the orchid-based aphrodisiacs drinks were called Satyrion, named after the lustful satyrs. This aphrodisiac is mentioned twice in the Satyricon of Petronius. ~