22/10/2023
Unassuming, oft overlooked. Yet in a rather well trodden stretch of this popular PCN, a rare giant goes largely unnoticed. This is a Tiger Orchid (Grammatophyllum speciosum), the world’s largest orchid, in full bloom.
To most park users jogging or cycling by it looks like any other plant; albeit messy, rather unglamorous and probably even grass-like in appearance. Yet orchids enthusiasts, botanists and just people who yearn to see one bloom often find it difficult to even come across one, much less in a place like this. It took 32 years of expert care and cultivation by expert horticulturalists to encourage this orchid to bloom at the renowned Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London. It made waves in Kerala, India, when a specimen they had in one of their botanical gardens bloomed earlier this year. It was even on display at our very own Orchid festivals in the botanical gardens, drawing international acclaim. Yet here it sits, unnoticed, uncelebrated and unassuming.
In the last picture of this series I juxtaposed it next to my bike just to show the massive size of this specimen.
