Tainan to hold orchid exhibition featuring new 'Lai Ching-te' breed

Tainan, Sept. 29 (CNA) An orchid exhibition held annually in Tainan, southern Taiwan, will display a new breed of the flower unusually named after the country's president at this year's show.

The Tainan Shan-Shang Garden and Old Water Works Museum is scheduled to host the horticultural event that will feature more than 500 orchid varieties between Oct. 10 and 14.

In addition to established orchid species such as Phalaenopsis, Cattleya, Paphiopedilum, Vanda, Oncidium and Dendrobium, however, a blossom with an atypical appellation will also be on display: the "Lai Ching-te Orchid."

Named after Lai Ching-te (賴清德), Taiwan's current president, the new orchid breed has yellow petals with red edges and a flower diameter of up to 18 centimeters.

Wu Po-chang (吳柏昌), the general manager of the orchid section of the botanical garden, told CNA that the new species was named after Lai with his permission in honor of his efforts to promote the orchid industry while serving as mayor of Tainan from 2010 to 2017.

The "Lai Ching-te Orchid" has been registered with the United Kingdom-based Royal Horticultural Society, and a certificate has been gifted to the president as a memento, Wu said.

Wu told CNA that it usually takes three to four years to develop a new orchid species, and an additional seven to eight years to mass-produce it for global distribution.

The "Lai Ching-te Orchid" is currently being cultivated in a greenhouse and is expected to bloom during the the annual orchid exhibition next month.

The Tainan Shan-Shang Garden and Old Water Works Museum will host the event, part of the local government-funded "Tainan 400" initiative aimed at promoting Tainan's culture.