The name of the outgoing President of the Philippines, Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III will forever be remembered by orchid lovers after one of the two newly-discovered orchid species has been named after Pres. Aquino.
The newly-discovered species of orchids were recently discovered in Mindanao, and one of them has been named after outgoing President Benigno Aquino III. The name Epicrianthes aquinoi is featured on the cover of the latest volume of Orchideen Journal published on Tuesday. The flower is yellow in color and is marked with pale brown spots.
The Orchideen Journal noted that Epicrianes is endemic to the Philippines, and has try has so far only been found in Bukidnon province on Mindanao. It grows as an epiphyte, in open forest at elevations of about 1,220 meters,” the journal read.
According to Miguel De Leon, one of the authors on his Facebook post that they wanted. One of the authors of the study, Miguel David De Leon, wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday that they wanted to honor Aquino by naming the newly discovered orchid after him.
“We took the liberty to name this yellow-colored species in honor of the 15th President of the Philippines, His Excellency President Benigno Aquino III. Thank you, Mr. President, for serving our country!” De Leon wrote.
The journal also reported that aside from Epicrianthes aquinoi, the other orchid discovered in Mindanao is Dendrobium lydiae in honor of businessman Emil Yap’s grandmother.
“Both species are exceedingly rare. Found in very isolated pockets of cloud forests, only a few specimens have been sighted,” De Leon wrote.