CEO of Gardens by the Bay Felix Loh and Costa Rica Ambassador Victor Rojas with the Guaria Morada orchid. PHOTO: COSTA RICA EMBASSY
The beautiful Guaria Morada (Guarianthe skinneri) is a species of orchid that is native to Costa Rica. It is the Central American country’s national flower.
Now the orchid can be spotted at Singapore’s Gardens By The Bay.
Costa Rica’s Lankester Botanical Gardens, located in Cartago province, donated 233 different types of Costa Rica orchids, including Guaria Morada, to Gardens by the Bay in an initiative that features a growing friendship between the two institutions.
The plants arrived in Singapore on April 27, 2021, after a week-long trip and are thriving in the new climatic conditions.
Unpacking the Guaria Morada orchid species at Gardens by the Bay. PHOTO: COSTA RICA EMBASSY
Mr Adam Karremans, director at the Lankester Botanical Gardens, expressed gratitude to Gardens By The Bay for showcasing Costra Rica’s national flower.
He said that thousands of people will now be able to appreciate one of Costa Rica’s national symbols and learn more about the orchid species.
He added that Costa Rica has 1,600 species of native orchids and the Lankester Botanical Gardens has 15,000 orchid plants, mostly for research.
Costa Rica Embassy staff with the orchids at Gardens by the Bay. PHOTO: COSTA RICA EMBASSY
The Cost Rica embassy in Singapore said this donation of orchid plants is part of a series of events that it will be hold with Gardens By the Bay in 2021
Costa Rica is celebrating 200 years of independence in 2021.
Ambassador Victor Hugo Rojas expressed his sincere appreciation to Gardens by the Bay for accommodating the orchids and displaying the rare species to the public in Singapore.
