The Philippines is an archipelago country in Southeast Asia made up of over 7,100 tropical islands. Despite its size, it is surprisingly one of the 18 mega-biodiverse countries in the world. Here we listed the most beautiful philippine flowers.
Also being home to 5% of the world’s flora and having over 10,000 vascular plants makes the Philippines one of the best places for finding the most amazing flowers.
Flowers vary dramatically in shapes, sizes, color, and meaning so as you can imagine this tropical paradise is home to the weird, wonderful, and most beautiful flowers around.
All kinds of flowers can be found scattered across the Filipino landscape, in gardens, at places of worship, and in parks.
Flowers also play a significant part in Filipino cultures, whether it be a plant used to decorate a wedding, or a valentine’s gift given to a partner to show love.
Either way, flowers play a big part in culture and tourism in the Philippines so today we want to take a look at the most popular types.
We have put together a list looking at the most attractive, common, and unique flowers found in the Philippines so be sure to read on if you want to learn more.
1. Sampaguita
We’ll start this list with the Philippines’ national flower. This small white blossom flower brings simple beauty to a garden.
The flowers are frequently used in garlands to give to tourists as a welcome offering. The Sampaguita was declared the national flower in 1934 as it symbolizes purity, simplicity, strength, and humility.
2. Jade Vine
Also known as the emerald vine, Jade vine is one of the rarest and most expensive plants in the world.
This truly incredible climber plant looks like something you would find on an alien planet. Growing up to 18m long it belongs to the legumes and pea family.
The plant produces 3m long clusters of claw-like turquoise and mint-green blooms. The attractive flower has a luminous quality that can easily be seen at night by pollinators like bats.
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3. Rose Grape
Despite commonly being known as the Philippine Orchid this flower has no association with the Orchidae family.
It is simply named this way because it is an epiphyte that lives on trees. Growing up to 3m tall the flowers on this plant bloom in clusters of pink, purple, and red blossoms.
As you can probably gather from its name the small round blossoms are shaped like a red grape. Most Filipino people use the flower for ornamental purposes. The berries on this plant are also edible.
4. Gardenia
The gardenia flower is a member of the Rubiaceae family. This native flower blooms all year round throughout the Philippines. The waxy flowers are white in color and come with a pleasant fragrance.
The tubular flowers are also available in yellow and contain berry-like fruits that have a sticky orange pulp.
In the Philippines, the gardenia is another flower known to represent purity. Depending on the color the gardenia plant can also symbolize a secret love between two people.
5. Oleander
Oleander flowers grow on a large, versatile, hardy shrub that can also be pruned to create a small tree.
The beautifully colored flowers of the oleander plant add plenty of color and joy to a small garden. The flowers are tubular with five lobes.
In the wild, they tend to be pink or red in color, but they can be white, yellow, cream, or purple when cultivated. Some but not all oleander flowers have a delightful fruity smell, similar to an apricot.
6. Plumeria
The plumeria flower is often very fragrant with a soft, fruity, creamy smell. The very fragrant five-petaled flowers bloom in clusters at the tips of thick upright branches.
The pristine flowers have a strong white color with a yellow center. Blooming in spring the plumeria flower is seen as a sign of new beginnings and new life.
7. Hooded Orchid
There are over 1,000 members of the Orchidae family and over 900 of them are unique to the Philippines.
One of the most popular and arguably the most beautiful is the hooded orchid. Hooded orchids have dull-colored hooded flowers that trap insects for pollination.
This flower may also be called fairy sanggumay as it resembles a tiny flying fairy with violet wings with a hint of yellow on the body. The hooded orchid is often used as a decoration at graduation ceremonies.
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8. Palawan Cherry Blossom
The Palawan cherry blossom is almost identical to the famous cherry blossom found in Japan. Having said that, they both come from different families.
Locally known as balayong Palawan cherry blossom is a small to medium-sized tree that produces light pink flowers that bloom in clusters from thick stems.
There are parks solely dedicated to cherry blossoms in the Philippines.
9. Monarch Rosemallow
The monarch rosemallow is a type of hibiscus that can grow to one meter tall. It has a showy trumpet-like flower that has a fuchsia center. Strangely this plant is often mistaken for a marijuana plant.
This is because its leaves are shaped like those on a cannabis plant. It is believed that the shrub might be able to cure a fever. The Filipino people consider it to be a blood purifier.
10. Red Silk-Cotton
Another weird and wonderful flower found in the Philippines is the red silk-cotton flower. Usually found along coastal areas it has cup-shaped red blooms that have five petals.
Once the flower has lost its foliage the plant becomes completely red giving the impression it is on fire.
When ripe the flower produces a brown capsule that contains white fibers like cotton, hence the name red silk-cotton.
11. Passiflora Moluccana
Passiflora moluccana is a type of passionfruit climber that can grow up to 6m in length. It is the only one of its genus that has opposite leaves.
The unearthly-looking plant has large flowers that bloom to reveal something you would expect to see in a Sci-Fi film.
The oddly shaped flower has white petals, a purple corona with a white middle, and a yellow or green stamen in the center.
The plant also contains a grenade-shaped fruit that symbolizes the death of Jesus Christ.
12. The Queen Of The Philippines
The Queen of the Philippines flower is another member of the orchid family. The orchid is considered to be the best of Philippine flowers. It is worshiped as a diwata (mythical being) by the indigenous Bagobo people.
The flowers bloom regularly at high altitudes showing delicate soft pink petals and a tiny yellow cluster of florets in the center.
It is usually used as an ornamental plant and can be commonly seen in parks or public gardens.
13. Poinsettia
The Philippines actually has its own poinsettia plantation in Negros. This Christmas flower has signature deep red petals that are unlike anything you have ever seen before.
The red petals on the flower aren’t, to many people’s surprise, petals at all. In fact, the petals on a poinsettia plant are simply leaves that have changed color thanks to the change in weather conditions.
14. Carnation
Available throughout the year in the Philippines, carnations add lush elegance to gorgeous flower arrangements. A carnation flower is a species of Dianthus.
Each carnation plant has a single flower made up of delicate multi-petaled blossoms at the end of a long thick stem.
They are available in a wide range of colors including pink, red, yellow, purple, orange, and white.
In the Philippines, carnations are used to show love or affection to somebody important. Strangely they are also used to symbolize death and eternal grief.
15. Calla Lily
The calla lily isn’t actually a lily but it looks just as lovely. Lilies usually have six separate petals. The calla lily only has one.
The single white petal has a simplistic beauty about it that goes excellently well in a wedding bouquet. Inside the white petal lies a yellow spadix that holds the plant’s true flowers.
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16. Bilbergia Pyramidalis
Bilbergia pyramidalis is an almost aggressive-looking plant with a strong red flower featuring spike-like florets. Also known as the flaming torch this Bromeliad plant is popular because of its unique appearance.
It has a large red flower, tipped with violet and surrounded by a spiral of strap-like leaves. Thanks to the plant’s association with fire it symbolizes freedom, inspiration, and knowledge.
Takeaway
The wide variety of flora in the Philippines has produced an incredible amount of flowers that either have strong meanings in Filipino culture, look unique, or add color to a scene.
As you can see from our list, flowers vary massively in the Philippines. This is in large parts due to the tropical climate the island nation finds itself in and its array of different landscapes.
The mountainous regions and long sandy coastline allow a diverse population of plant life to grow.
Some flowers in the Philippines might be used as a form of decoration during a special occasion.
Others might be simply grown to create a beautiful garden. Some flowers may even grow wild in many of the Philippines ’ tropical forests.
Despite the tropical climate in the Philippines and rich, rugged landscapes you could actually still grow some of these unique flowers in your own backyard.
In fact, most flora found growing in the Philippines will grow all over the world so why not add some tropical Filipino color to your garden.
