And They Said It was OUR National Flower

There are many things we assume when we are given bare facts. One of them was when I was taught at school that the Sampaguita was the (Philippine) national flower. Oh, ok then. If it was the national flower, then it was ours. The unspoken premise was no one else had it.

In the course of my travels however, reality has been chipping away at these hoary assumptions. One was when I discovered the Philippine roast pig called Lechon, happily existing in a Laotian marketplace. (Yeah, yeah, a Laotian Roast Pig). The latest to take a fall has been the Sampaguita (Jasminum sambac) which I encountered happily growing on a sidewalk in Solo, Java. Research on Wikipedia has since shown me that the Sampaguita ranges from Southwest, Southeast, and South Asia.
Great. I feel betrayed. I want to punch someone. Whoever led me to believe the Sampaguita was uniquely Filipino. Arrrgh!

Originally posted on Nov 1, 2010
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