BIBLIOASIA APR – JUN 2018 Vol. 14 / Issue 01 / Feature

2 Nadia Wright, a historian, Linda Locke, a Joaquim. Intrigued as to why Ridley’s In an 1894 paper delivered to the great grand-niece of Agnes Joaquim, and account had been replaced by a tale prestigious Linnean Society in England, Harold Johnson, an orchid enthusiast, of chance discovery in various stories Ridley reiterated that Vanda Hookeriana collaborated in this historiography of about the flower in Singapore, Wright had been “successfully crossed” with V. Singapore’s national flower, theVanda Miss decided to investigate. teres, Lindl., “producing a remarkably Joaquim. Locke is a former advertising CEO handsome offspring, V. x Miss Joaquim.” and the co-author of the recently released children’s book: Agnes and her Amazing This paper was published unaltered in The Birth of a Bloom 4 Orchid. Johnson and Wright’s second 1896. Ridley, who lived to be 100 years edition of Vanda Miss Joaquim: Singapore’s In 1893, Agnes Joaquim, or possibly her old, never wavered in his statement. National Flower & the Legacy of Agnes & brother Joe (Joaquim P. Joaquim), showed When Isaac Henry Burkill (Ridley’s suc- Ridley will be published in late 2018. Locke Henry Ridley a new orchid. After carefully cessor at the Botanic Gardens) checked and Johnson are Singaporeans, while examining the bloom, having it sketched, all of Ridley’s herbarium specimens Wright is an Australian. and preserving a specimen in the her- and redid the labels, he saw no reason barium of the Botanic Gardens, Ridley to dispute Ridley and recorded Joaquim sent an account of the orchid’s origin and as the creator. appearance to The Gardeners’ Chronicle, a Ridley sent cuttings of Vanda Miss respected English horticulture periodical Joaquim to Sir Trevor Lawrence, Presi- While doing research on the Armenian founded in 1841. He wrote: dent of the Royal Horticultural Society community in Singapore back in the and one of the world’s leading orchidists, 1990s, Australian historian Nadia Wright “A few years ago Miss Joaquim, where it was nurtured in his orchid house read an account of how the daughter of a a lady residing in Singapore, at Burford Lodge, in Dorking, England. prominent Armenian family in Singapore, well-known for her success as a Flowering for the first time in Europe in wAgnes Joaquim1(Ashken Hovagimian), had horticulturist, succeeded in cross­ 1897, Vanda Miss Joaquim was displayed stumbled upon a never-before-seen orchid ing Vanda Hookeriana, Rchb. f., and at the Royal Horticultural Show in Lon- bloom by accident in the family garden. V. teres, two plants cul­tivated in don, winning a First Class Certificate. In the authoritative The Gardeners’ almost every garden in Singapore. In describing the event, The Gardeners’ Chronicle, published on 24 June 1893, Unfortunately, no record was kept as Chronicle noted that “the plant was however, Henry Nicholas Ridley, the first to which was used as the male. The obtained from a cross between V. teres Director of the Singapore Botanic Gar- result has now appeared in the form and V. Hookeriana some years ago by dens (1888−1911) stated unequivocally of a very beautiful plant, quite inter­ Miss Joaquim at Singapore”.5 that Agnes Joaquim had crossed two mediate between the two species In Singapore, Joaquim’s orchid different orchids, the Vanda Hookeriana and as I cannot find any record of debuted at the 1899 Flower Show. The with the Vanda teres and produced the this cross having been made before, Straits Times commented that "one of orchid which he later named Vanda Miss I describe it herewith.”3 the most noticeable flowers was the

(Facing page) Vanda x Miss Joa- quim. Image source: Linden, J., & Linden, L. (1897). Lindenia Ico- nographie des Orchidées (Series 2, vol. 13). (Right) The First Class Certificate awarded to Sir Trevor Lawrence, President of the Royal Horticul- tural Society, at the 1897 Royal Horticultural Flower Show for his Vanda Miss Joaquim hybrid. Image source: RHS Lindley Collections, The Royal Horticultural Society. (Far right) A detail from the Vanda Miss Joaquim specimen sheet of the first spike of flowers received in April 1893 by the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The flower was the same one described by Henry Ridley in The Gardeners’ Chronicle in June 1893. The label beneath the specimen is Ridley’s handwriting. The Vanda Miss Joaquim Story Courtesy of the Singapore Botanic Gardens Herbarium.

Is the Vanda Miss Joaquim a human-made hybrid or a happy accident? In this cautionary tale, Nadia Wright, Linda Locke and Harold Johnson recount how fiction becomes truth when it is repeated often enough.

02 03 BIBLIOASIA APR – JUN 2018 Vol. 14 / Issue 01 / Feature orchid Vanda Miss Joaquim, named after first Director of Honolulu’s Foster Botani- former directors, but also cast doubt on Miss Joaquim and raised by that lady”.6 cal Garden), who was involved with the Ridley’s character. Ridley had not only The Singapore Free Press confirmed propagation of Vanda Miss Joaquim there, officially reported the genesis of the Vanda Joaquim’s achievement, reporting that believed Ridley. Miss Joaquim in 1893 but also successfully “Miss Joaquim showed a hybrid which has Agnes Joaquim’s nephew Basil J.P. created orchid hybrids himself, in 1896 and been named after her, that she has, after Joaquim, a prominent lawyer in Kuala 1902. Yet, the younger Burkill gave no sup- repeated trials, succeeded in cultivating”.7 Lumpur, corroborated Ridley’s view and porting evidence for his puzzling assertion. From 1893 until 1981, the orchid was was cited in The Straits Times in 1951 as References to Vanda Miss Joaquim’s accepted, with few exceptions, as a hybrid saying “this hybrid was not discovered in origin decreased in the late 1960s and bred by Joaquim. Robert Rolfe, editor of the garden… [but was the result of [an] during the 1970s, reflecting declining The Orchid Review and an authority on artificial pollination… performed by my interest in the orchid. While some in Sin- orchid hybrids, placed Vanda Miss Joaquim unmarried aunt, Miss Agnes Joaquim”.9 gapore referred to it as an artificial hybrid, among the 106 cultivated hybrids created Articles published in local newspapers others began to repeat Humphrey Burkill’s in 1893. Subsequent issues of The Orchid also regarded the orchid as an artificial allegation that it was a natural hybrid. Like Review, The Gardeners’ Chronicle and hybrid created by Joaquim. him, none gave any reason for doubting other leading contemporary horticultural However, at the 1963 World Orchid Ridley’s official account. journals reiterated the fact that Joaquim Conference held in Singapore, Humphrey Flower Week in July 1981, he further stature” should hold sway over the remi- (Left) Henry Ridley, first Director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens (1888–1911), was described as “a had crossed the parent orchids, as did all Morrison Burkill, who was appointed The Discovery Myth contributed to the confusion by claiming niscences of an elderly person. But his the editions of the authoritative Sander’s Director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens that Agnes Joaquim had discovered the views published in the Malayan Orchid genius”, “a keen observer and a great naturalist”, 14 and “a botanist of exceptional capability”. His article Complete List of Orchid Hybrids. in 1957, sowed the seeds of dispute, alleg- On 15 April 1981, Vanda Miss Joaquim flower – not only contradicting what his Review in 1982 were brushed aside, and published in The Gardeners’ Chronicle on 24 June ing that artificial orchid hybrids were not was declared Singapore’s national flower. cousin Basil J.P. Joaquim said in 1951, again it was claimed that the orchid was 1893 unequivocally states that Agnes Joaquim had 15 Sowing the First Seeds of Doubt produced in Singapore until 1928. He added While fame was assured for the orchid, but also Ridley. a natural hybrid. bred the Vanda Miss Joaquim. Image source: Make- that among the plants used in creating Agnes Joaquim’s true role was tossed Arriving at Changi Airport on 21 July There was no further opposition to peace, W., Brooke, G., & Braddell, R. S. J. (Eds.). (1921). In 1931, The Straits Times announced hybrids was the “natural hybrid Vanda aside when newspaper reports of the from Perth, Australia, where he had been this fictitious story: an example of when One Hundred Years of Singapore (p. 78). London: J. Murray. (Call no.: RCLOS 959.91 MAK) that a new hybrid orchid – the Spatho- Miss Joaquim” which he described as a day described the flower as a natural living for over two decades, the 88-year- something is repeated often enough, (Middle) Richard Eric Holttum, Director of the glottis Primrose – had been produced in “delightful accident of nature”.10 hybrid which she had chanced upon in old Johannes declared to the reporter who it sometimes becomes accepted truth. Singapore Botanic Gardens (1925–1942 and Singapore. It was the first orchid raised Burkill’s claims not only contradicted her garden. When a nephew of Agnes interviewed him that “Aunt Agnes found Subsequent newspaper mentions of the 1946–1949), was an orchid hybridiser himself using the new technique of germinating those of his father Isaac Burkill (Director Joaquim, Basil E. Johannes, was invited the flower one morning [in 1893] when she orchid said it was a natural hybrid. Even and he regarded the Vanda Miss Joaquim as Singapore’s first artificial hybrid orchid. Courtesy seeds in a sterile culture. This orchid of Botanic Gardens, 1912–25) and other to Singapore for the launch of the National was loitering in the garden. She was so when the centenary of the orchid took of Singapore Botanic Gardens. was described as the second hybrid to be excited that she took it to the director of place in 1993, there was no reference to (Above) Humphrey Morrison Burkill, Director of produced in Malaya or, as the newspaper the Botanic Gardens straightaway”.11 Local Ridley’s account. the Singapore Botanic Gardens (1957–1969), alleged playfully added in parentheses, “the first newspapers ran with Johannes’s story, A diorama at the Singapore History that artificial orchid hybrids were not produced in if Vanda Miss Joaquim came into being as alleging that Vanda Miss Joaquim was a Museum and a brochure on the National Singapore until 1928. He said that among plants used in creating hybrids was the “natural hybrid 8 the result of a happy accident”. No reason natural hybrid and making no mention of Orchid Garden stated that the orchid was Vanda Miss Joaquim” which he described as a was offered for this speculation and the Ridley’s original account. discovered by Miss Agnes Joaquim, as did “delightful accident of nature”. Image source: Sharp, mischievous aside was not taken up. In his book on the Vanda Miss Joaquim a display board at the Singapore Botanic I., & Lum, S. (Eds.). (1996). A View from the Sum- Richard Eric Holttum, who was published in 1982, Teoh Eng Soon further Gardens as recently as 2016. All of that mit: The Story of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (p. 29). Singapore: Nanyang Technological University Director of the Botanic Gardens between enshrined Johannes’s story in print, reinforced the view that Singapore’s and the National University of Singapore. (Call no.: 1925 and 1942 and again from 1946 to 1949, embellishing it with more detail: “One national flower had popped up seren- RSING 333.78095957 VIE) accepted Ridley’s description, as did his morning while Agnes was loitering alone dipitously in Joaquim’s garden one day. (Below) Issued on 10 March 1963, this stamp with later successors Murray Ross Henderson in the garden she came upon a new orchid a face value of 30 cents features the Vanda Miss (1949–54) and John William Purseglove flower nestled in a clump of bamboo… Joaquim. It is one of the stamps in the Fishes, Debunking the Myth Orchids & Birds Definitives series. Image source: (1954–57). In Hawaii, Harold Lyon (the Agnes could not contain her excitement. Stamp Community Forum. Straightaway she took it to the Director of In 2000, Nadia Wright wrote an article in the Singapore Botanic Gardens.”12 the Malayan Orchid Review, maintaining (Right) This is the first published image of the Vanda Miss Joaquim. Image source: The Gardeners’ Arshak Galstaun, President of St that Agnes Joaquim had crossed the Chronicle, 26 June 1897, p. 427, Biodiversity Heritage Gregory’s Board of Trustees, which looked orchid as Ridley had recorded. Explaining Library. Digitised by UMass Amherst Libraries. after the affairs of the Armenian Church in why the discovery story was false, she (Bottom) An extract of the list of Vanda orchids Singapore, and an old friend of Johannes’s declared it was time to set the record showing natural and artificial ones published was dismayed by this turn of events. In straight.16 Although Wright based her by Sander & Sons. All rights reserved, Orchid Hybrids: Sander's Complete List, Containing fact, he said so at Teoh’s book launch and reassessment on publicly available his- the Names and Parentages of all the Known wrote to the media refuting it. torical evidence, her article was criticised Hybrid Orchids Whether Introduced or Artificially Galstaun regarded Ridley’s state- by those who believed that the orchid was Raised… (p. 81). (1915). St Albans; Sander & Sons. ment in 1893 that “no record was kept a natural hybrid discovered by chance. as to which of the plants was used as Aiming to discredit Wright’s research, the male” as evidence that Joaquim had the detractors echoed Teoh Eng Soon’s been experimenting with orchid hybrids spurious claim that “nearly every orchidist for some time. He was certain that Ridley since [1893] believed that [Joaquim] had would not have made that comment if the discovered a natural hybrid”.17 hybrid had been created naturally.13 The debate continued until 2007. Believing Johannes’s recollections In her book on Singapore’s Armenians to be based on hearsay and pure conjec- published in 2003, Wright reiterated her ture, Galstaun reasoned that the “positive stand, adding that Joaquim was the first written record of a scientist of Mr Ridley’s woman in the world to breed an orchid.18

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years after Joaquim’s death. Johannes with a much later event. One day in the Ridley’s article reinforces the fact that agnes joaquim would have met Joaquim only when the 1930s while walking in Malaya, his cousin Joaquim had produced the orchid. Had family was visiting Singapore and when Basil Joaquim came across an unusual she just stumbled upon it by chance, there Agnes Joaquim’s lineage can be traced to the diasporic Armenian commu- he was very young (he was only six years orchid, which he sent to the Director of would be no need for Ridley to mention nity who sank roots in Singapore soon old when she died). Members of the the Botanic Gardens to see if it were a the fact that she had failed to record the after the settlement’s founding in extended Joaquim family were stunned new orchid. pollen parent. Ridley would gain nothing 1819. Joaquim’s grandparents were by Johannes’s remarks to the press. by concocting a false claim; indeed, his Isaiah Zechariah, one of the founders Whatever the case, these facts Discrediting Ridley reputation as an orchid expert would have of Singapore’s Armenian Apostolic cast serious doubt on the credibility of been at stake, not to mention his position as Church of St Gregory the Illuminator – Johannes’s testimony, as does an oral To push for acceptance of Basil Johannes’s the first Director of the Botanic Gardens. more simply known as the Armenian history interview he gave to the National account, its supporters turned on Ridley. Critics tried to discredit Ridley by Church – and Ashkhen Arathoon, after Archives in July 1981 which showed that They suggested that Ridley’s statement claiming that he did not know how to whom Agnes Joaquim was named. his recollections were neither consistent about Agnes Joaquim crossing the orchid hybridise orchids. They questioned his Her parents were Parsick Joaquim, an Armenian from Madras, nor accurate. was “allegorical rather than factual”, or specific expertise as his interests ranged 25 and Urelia Zechariah, a Singapore- Basil Johannes’s older brother that it was based on an “assumption”. “from agriculture to ghosts”, implying born Armenian. Parsick Joaquim John, who was born 10 years earlier in But Ridley was known to be a careful that he had only a superficial knowledge arrived in Singapore around 1840 and 1883, told a very different story. In the observer and recorder. Had Joaquim found about many subjects. They dismissed worked as a merchant and trader. 1890s, John Johannes attended Raffles the orchid, Ridley would have written it Ridley’s expert account in The Garden- Together with Simon Stephens, he Institution and no doubt lived with his up accordingly as he had done with other ers’ Chronicle because it was written founded Stephens & Joaquim in 1849. grandmother and Joaquim at the family natural hybrids. Besides, the wording of after he had lived “in Singapore only 4–5 In 1852, Parsick Joaquim mar- home. He was 16 years old in 1899 and years and before acquiring the expertise ried Urelia Zechariah and lived on Hill more likely than his younger brother to he had in later years”.26 Street near other Armenian families have had first-hand knowledge of the In truth, Ridley was an orchid expert and the church. His business thrived, what is hybridisation? and in 1861, the family moved to a orchid. In later years when John Johannes when he arrived in Singapore in 1888. As mansion overlooking Tanjong Pagar, walked past a flower shop displaying The hybridisation of a plant involves a Fellow of the Linnean Society, his prolific which he named Mt Narcis, after his Vanda Miss Joaquim orchids, he would two steps. First, pollination takes output covered 10 papers on orchids. These eldest son. When the mansion was (Top) Photo of Agnes Joaquim on a locket that once belonged to her, with an inscription of cross his two forefingers and proudly tell place during which pollen is trans- included his detailed observations of orchid demolished in 1901, the carriage- her name on the reverse side. The locket is now in the possession of Linda Locke, her great his daughter Hazel that her grand-aunt ferred from the male flower to the self-pollination and an influential paper on way leading to the house was named grand-niece. Courtesy of Linda Locke. had bred the orchid. female flower to create a seed. Sec- “The Nomenclature of Orchids” presented Narcis Road. (Right) Agnes Joaquim died of cancer on 2 July 1899 at the age of 45. Her tombstone is found within the grounds of the Armenian Church in Singapore. It was originally located at Bukit Hazel Locke’s (nee Johannes) ond, germination occurs in which the at the 1886 British orchid conference. Parsick Joaquim died unexpect- Timah Cemetery. Her tombstone bears the inscription “Let her own works praise her”. account of her father’s actions was seed develops into a plant. Whether a Indeed, England’s leading orchidists of edly in 1872, leaving his wife to raise Courtesy of Prem Singh. scathingly dismissed by various people hybrid is artificial or natural depends the time, such as Frederick Burbidge and 11 children, the youngest of whom who insisted that Johannes’s claim that on how the pollination occurred. If James Veitch, turned to Ridley with queries was three years old. Fortunately, he the orchid grew in a clump of bamboo the transfer of pollen is done by a on orchid fertilisation. Yet his account was left the family well provided for. attractive bouquet composed of orchids Local newspapers reported Joaquim’s was “a report of an observation”.24 How person, the resulting hybrid is termed rejected in favour of that of Basil Johannes Agnes Joaquim, born on 7 April and delicate grasses. death, describing her as the sister of 1854, did not marry and was no doubt However, it was in the garden that “respected townsman” Joe Joaquim, the proponents of the discovery theory “artificial”. If it is done by agents of who admitted that he knew nothing about an immense help to her widowed Joaquim excelled, putting her fingers her younger brother, and an eminent reached these conclusions is unknown. pollination such as insects, birds or growing plants. mother, although their workload and mind to work. She won an impressive lawyer and Municipal Commissioner. It is likely that Basil Johannes was by the wind, it is termed “natural”. Ridley’s account was further dis- eased when the four youngest sons number of prizes in the annual flower Joaquim was buried in Bukit confusing Agnes Joaquim’s “discovery” missed because Joaquim had not kept were sent to boarding school in Eng- shows before finally making her mark Timah Cemetery, and when the close records of her work. The aforemen- land. Joaquim led a busy social life, in history with her hybrid, Vanda Miss grounds were acquired by the govern- tioned Robert Rolfe lamented that earlier attending various balls and festivities. Joaquim. Exhibited at the annual ment, her tombstone was one of those hybridists too had not kept records as to However, it appears she was a strict Flower Show in April 1899, the Vanda rescued and moved to the Armenian which was the seed parent. However, their woman in her later years, shooing her Miss Joaquim won First Prize for the Church grounds. Today, it rests in the work has not been dismissed because of young nieces and nephews out of sight rarest orchid, and more importantly, Garden of Memories in the church this supposed failing. whenever guests arrived at the house. recognition for her years of work. grounds, with a pot of orchids – the Joaquim was a skilled and artis- However, Joaquim was not destined Vanda Miss Joaquim naturally – on It has been claimed that because tic needlewoman. She embroidered a to live long. She developed cancer and her either side. The epitaph on the tomb- Ridley did not describe how the seeds beautiful altar cloth for the Armenian condition took a turn for the worse when stone reads: “Let her own works praise were germinated in his report, Joaquim Church, and at the 1891 Flower Show, she contracted pneumonia. She died on 2 her”, a reminder of the enduring legacy could not have made the cross. But then, she was complimented for her most July 1899 at the relatively young age of 45. Agnes Joaquim left behind. such information was not included in other articles on hybrids in The Gar- deners’ Chronicle; they simply gave That book and Wright’s subsequent article The authors accepted Teoh’s recon- have grown in the shade of a bamboo the names of the hybridiser, the parent in 2004 came under fire, but no credible structed account as factual, declaring clump as alleged.22 orchids, and a detailed botanical descrip- evidence to refute Ridley’s findings was that Teoh was right simply because he The book repeated Teoh’s claim that tion of the new flower. This was exactly offered in return.19 “described the event” in detail.21 Yet Johannes was right, declaring that he what Ridley’s article did. Although Wright explained why the Teoh could not provide concrete proof was “the only living person to have met Indeed, biologist Joseph Arditti, a account of the orchid’s origin written by of how he became privy to his informa- her [Agnes Joaquim]”.23 The authors, strong supporter of the discovery myth, a respected botanist and orchid expert, tion, including details such as Joaquim however, failed to mention that the noted that William Herbert, a pioneer and accepted by other experts should be was “alone” when she found the orchid 88-year-old Johannes was born in 1893, in hybridisation, had given “no details believed over confused and unsubstanti- “nestled in a clump of bamboo”. The the year Vanda Miss Joaquim originated, regarding his germination method”.27 Yet, ated speculations, her views were sum- Vanda Miss Joaquim needs “full sunlight or that Johannes had spent his infancy inexplicably, Arditti accepted Herbert’s marily dismissed by the authors of a book and plenty of air movement” in order to in Java, only coming to Singapore to live Agnes Joaquim succeeded in crossing Vanda Hookeriana (left ) with Vanda teres (right) to create the hybrid hybrid as genuine, but not Joaquim’s. on Vanda Miss Joaquim.20 thrive, and thus it was most unlikely to in 1901 when he was eight years old: two Vanda Miss Joaquim. Photos by David Lim. Courtesy of the National Parks Board.

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In 2007, Arditti and Hew continued recognition of her hybridisation of the Joaquim had indeed crossed the parent to claim that Vanda Miss Joaquim was orchid. Hazel Locke (Basil Johannes’s plants to create Vanda Miss Joaquim. a natural hybrid but yet again provided niece) accepted the award on Joaquim’s NHB and the Singapore Botanic Gardens no evidence.42 In a final attempt to set behalf. The award was presented by Hali- amended their official records in 2016. the record straight, Harold Johnson and mah Yacob, then Speaker of Parliament This news was brought to the atten- Nadia Wright collaborated on a book in (and currently President of Singapore). tion of other government agencies – the 2008 that documented the orchid’s true But the journey towards correcting National Library Board, for instance, origins.43 Although the book elevated public history was not over yet. In 2016, matters corrected its articles about the orchid on awareness of the subject, it was still not came to a head after Hazel Locke’s daughter, Singapore Infopedia, its online encyclope- sufficient to convince officialdom to accept Linda Locke, came across a display board at dia − and in September 2016, The Straits that Joaquim had hybridised the orchid. the Singapore Botanic Gardens that failed Times ran a full-page report accepting In 2009, The Straits Times repeated to recognise Joaquim’s role. The younger that Agnes Joaquim was responsible for that Agnes Joaquim had bred the orchid, Locke embarked on further research to creating the hybrid orchid.44 but in news reports published in 2011, evaluate the conflicting arguments put Truth had finally triumphed, but its 2012 and 2015, it moved to a more neu- forward by various people and was able vindication was hard won, with a war of tral position without attributing credit to to confirm that the evidence presented by words and various parties taking dif- her. However, signs of change began to Johnson and Wright was indisputable. ferent sides since the late 1950s. Much appear. For example, in 2011, a sample Locke persisted in her efforts to cor- ado over a trivial matter, some may say. question from the Singapore citizenship rect official records of Singapore history However, when the bloom in question is (Above) Vanda Miss Joaquim orchids in bloom. Courtesy of Linda Locke. (Middle) A close-up of a Vanda Miss Joaquim. Courtesy of National Parks Board. pollination in Singapore”, he compiled a quiz asked who had bred the orchid. The and managed to convince the National Her- Singapore’s national flower, it is important (Right) A painting of the Vanda Miss Joaquim that won Sir Trevor Lawrence, President of the Royal Horti- list of plants they pollinated.35 He did not correct answer was Agnes Joaquim. itage Board (NHB) to conduct its own review that its correct history is told. This is all cultural Society, the First Class Certificate at the 1897 Royal Horticultural Flower Show. Drawn by artist record carpenter bees as visiting or pol- Finally, in 2015, after careful delib- of all historical source materials. Only then the more timely as we commemorate Nellie Roberts in 1897, it is simply titled “Miss Joaquim Agnes”. FCC/RHS. Image source: RHS Lindley linating either Vanda Hookeriana or Vanda eration, Joaquim was inducted into the did NHB, together with the National Parks the 125th anniversary of the Vanda Miss Collections, The Royal Horticultural Society. teres, although he noted that such bees did Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame in Board, arrive at the conclusion that Agnes Joaquim in 2018. assist in the fertilisation of other orchids.36 her role. For example, they quoted The Arditti insisted that “all orchid scien- The Plot Thickens 15 Goh, C. J. (1982). Dr Goh replies. Malayan Orchid 32 Laycock, J. (1949, January). Vanda Miss Joaquim. Straits Times of 12 April 1899 as reporting tists and knowledgeable orchid growers Notes Review, 16, pp. 53–54. Singapore: Straits Times Philippine Orchid Review, 2, p. 3. (Not available in It has been suggested that Agnes Joaquim that Joaquim “succeed [sic] in cultivating” believe that Vanda Miss Joaquim is a natu- 1 Joaquim is pronounced joe/ah/kim/ with the accent Press. (Call no.: RSING 584.15 MOR) [Note: The NLB holdings) would not have known how to germinate the Vanda Miss Joaquim, but downplayed ral hybrid”.37 But he did not substantiate on joe. editor of the journal was Teoh Eng Soon.] 33 Hew, Yam & Arditti, 2002, pp. 49, 52. 2 Today, the orchid’s botanic name has been changed 16 Wright, N. H. (2000). The origins of Vanda Miss 34 Claims that a hybrid found growing in garden seeds and that successful methods of the word “cultivating” in this context to this sweeping statement. Indeed, to the to Papilionanthe Miss Joaquim although it is still 30 Joaquim. Malayan Orchid Review, 34, pp. 70–73. in Johor Bahru is evidence that Vanda Miss germination had been developed only mean merely “growing”. contrary, Harold Johnson’s review of lit- commonly called Vanda Miss Joaquim. (Call no.: RSING 584.15 MOR) Joaquim is a natural hybrid are misleading. after her death. This is far from true. Elsewhere, they omitted Ridley’s erature shows that until 1981, almost all 3 Ridley, H. N. (1893, June 24). Vanda Miss Joaquim. 17 Teoh, 1982, p. 30; Yam T. W., Arditti, J., & Hew That hybrid was not a Vanda Miss Joaquim. In fact, Vanda Miss Joaquim was one of reference to Joaquim by claiming that he publications accepted Vanda Miss Joaquim The Gardeners’ Chronicle, 13, p. 740. Retrieved C. S. (2004). The origin of Vanda Miss Joaquim. Although the parent plants grew in the garden, 106 artificial hybrids created in Britain “only wrote that the cross was between as an artificial hybrid and only a few after from Biodiversity Library website. Malayan Orchid Review, 38, p. 93. (Call no.: the bee did not create the orchid from them, 4 Ridley, H. N. (1896). Mr. Ridley on the Orchideae and in 1893. Joaquim’s achievement was not Vanda Hookeriana Rchb.f. and V. teres” 1963 suggested differently.38 RSING 584.15 MOR) instead it cross-pollinated Vanda Hookeriana Apostasiaceae of the Malay Peninsula. Journal of 18 Wright, N. H. (2003). Respected citizens: The and Vanda Miss Joaquim. an anomaly – she was doing in Singapore when in fact he had specifically reported It is worth remembering that Botanic the Linnean Society, Botany, p. 356. history of Armenians in Singapore and Malaysia 35 Ridley, H. N. Various Notes Zoological and what others were already doing in Britain that Joaquim had “succeeded in cross- Gardens director Richard Holttum, who 5 Orchid Committee. (1897, June 19). The Gardeners’ (p. 150). Middle Park, Vic.: Amassia Publishing. Botanical: Fertilization Notes, Australian Joint and elsewhere. ing” these two orchid species.31 closely reviewed his predecessor Isaac Chronicle, 21, p. 410. Retrieved from Biodiversity (Call no.: RSING 305.891992 WRI) Copying Project, M. 773, reel 44, frame 336–7. Library website. Information on germination was They also misquoted Singaporean Burkill’s work, regarded Vanda Miss 19 Wright, N. H. (2004). A re-examination of the 36 Ridley, H. N. Notebook 1891–1896 Fertilization 6 The flower show. (1899, April 12). The Straits Times, origins of Vanda Miss Joaquim. Orchid Review 112 Notes, AJCP, M. 771, reel 42, frame 255. Also see readily available in books as well as in pioneer breeder John Laycock, who Joaquim as an artificial hybrid. In 1928, p. 3. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. (1259), pp. 292–298; Human Flower Project. (2005, Ridley, H.N. (1905, July). On the fertilization of the horticultural journals. Besides, it has said the question as to how Agnes had Holttum quoted Ridley’s original report, 7 The flower show. (1899, April 12).The Singapore August). Miss Agnes’s big little secret. Retrieved grammatophyllum. Journal of the Straits Branch of been suggested that Joaquim had sown succeeded in germinating the seed into commenting on the skill and care with Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, p. 2. from Human Flower Project website; Arditti, J., & the Royal Asiatic Society, 44, pp. 228–229. Retrieved the seeds onto a base of coconut dust, from a flowering plant “must now forever which Agnes Joaquim had raised the Retrieved from NewspaperSG. Hew, S. H. (2005) Letter to the editor. The Orchid from JSTOR via NLB’s eResources website. 8 The article later described Vanda Miss Joaquim where they germinated.28 Curiously, it was remain unanswered”.32 Laycock’s words plant and describing it as “her orchid”.39 Review, 113 (1263), pp. 176–177. 37 Arditti, J. (2005, April 26). You say orchid, I say as an artificial hybrid. New orchids for Malaya 20 Hew, C. S., Yam, T. W., & Arditti, J. (2002). Biology Joaquim. Retrieved from dsng.net website. inferred that if the pollination was done were rewritten into something quite dif- Again in 1972, he quoted Ridley’s report (1931, August 4). The Straits Times, p. 12. of Vanda Miss Joaquim (pp. 222–224). Singapore: 38 Johnson, H. J. (2004). Vanda Miss Joaquim. 40 by a bee, then the seeds could germinate, ferent from what he had intended – that as evidence of the orchid’s origins. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. Singapore University Press. (Call no.: RSING Malayan Orchid Review, 38, pp. 99–107. [Note: Linda but if the pollination was done by Joaquim, the question of whether or not Joaquim 9 On the margin. (1951, April 5). The Straits Times, 584.4095957 HEW). Locke added more to that list of literature in 2017.] p. 6. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. 21 Hew, Yam & Arditti, 2002, p. 41. 39 Holttum, R. E. (1928). Vanda Miss Joaquim. Malayan the seeds could not have done so. bred the orchid “must now forever remain 10 Burkill, H. M. (1963). The role of the Singapore 33 Getting it Right – Finally 22 Hew, Yam & Arditti, 2002, p. 179; Miss Joaquim’s Naturalist, 2 (1), pp. 22, 24. (Microfilm no.: NL 6582) There was no end to the efforts to unanswered”. Botanic Gardens in the development of Orchid nephew coming for Flower Week. (1981, July 40 Holttum, R. E. (1972). And comments. The Orchid disparage Joaquim. Her critics pointed If the Vanda Miss Joaquim is a natural Ridley was widely respected for his role Hybrids (p. 14). Singapore: Straits Times Press. 19). The Straits Times, p. 6. Retrieved from Review, 80 (951), p. 168. (Not available in NLB holdings) out that Joaquim did not breed any other hybrid as alleged, then what was the agent in establishing the Singapore Botanic (Call no.: RCLOS 584.15 BUR-[RFL]) NewspaperSG. 41 Purseglove, J. W. (1955, December 10). The Ridley orchids, apart from the one she had of the pollination? Could it be carpenter Gardens as a reputable attraction and, 11 Lim, H. K. (1981, July 23). “Miss Joaquim fails to 23 Hew, Yam & Arditti, 2002, p. 46. Centennial, mss. greet nephew at gates”. The Straits Times, p. 8. been falsely credited with. Claiming bees, as it has been claimed before? But in 1955, was described by historian Sir 24 Yam, Arditti & Hew, 2004, p. 93; Hew, Yam & Arditti, 42 Arditti, J., & Hew, C. S. (2007). The origins of Retrieved from NewspaperSG. 2002, p. 224. Vanda Miss Joaquim (pp. 290–291, 309). In Orchid that hybridisers tended to make several there is no evidence in history of these Richard Winstedt as “the man whose 12 Teoh, E. S. (1982). A joy forever: Vanda Miss 25 Hew, Yam & Arditti, 2002, p. 223; Arditti & Hew, Biology, Reviews and Perspectives, IX. (Not crosses in their lifetimes, they concluded bees ever creating another Vanda Miss influence on Malayan history is second Joaquim Singapore’s national flower (p. 29) 2005, p. 176. available in NLB holdings) that she could not possibly have created Joaquim. And there never have been any only to that of Raffles”.41 Yet, after 1981, Singapore: Times Books International. (Call no.: 26 Arditti & Hew, 2005, p. 176. 43 Johnson, H., & Wright N. (2008). Vanda Miss RSING 584.15095957 TEO) 27 Arditti, J. (1992). Fundamentals of orchid biology Joaquim: Singapore’s national flower & the legacy the Vanda Miss Joaquim. But the fact is reports of naturally occurring Vanda Miss Ridley’s pronouncement on the origins 13 The question of the male parent was only 34 (p. 43). New York: Wiley. (Not available in NLB holdings) of Agnes & Ridley. Singapore: Suntree Media. (Call all hybridisers start with one cross. What Joaquim orchids being found anywhere. of the Vanda Miss Joaquim became resolved in 2015 by Dr Gillian Khew who 28 Notes on monthly meetings. (1957). Malayan Orchid no.: RSING 635.9344095957 JOH) further weakened the critics’ spurious Besides, if bees had done the pol- sidelined. Although contemporary orchid determined that it was Vanda Hookeriana. See Review, 5 (2), p. 30; Yeoh, B. C. (1959). Kinta weed. 44 Zaccheus. F. M. (2016, September 7). Vanda Miss claims is that the very source they cited linating, Ridley would have said so. In his experts accepted Ridley’s statement that Feng, Z. (2015, July 10). Vanda Miss Joaquim Malayan Orchid Review, 5, p. 81. Joaquim’s namesake gets official credit as creator. reported that half of all breeders in that observations, Ridley carefully distinguished the orchid was deliberately created, the mystery solved. The Straits Times. Retrieved 29 Citing Yeoh Bok Choon’s List of Malayan Hybrids, The Straits Times. Retrieved from The Straits from The Straits Times website. study produced only one hybrid.29 between an insect visiting a flower and discovery story was perpetuated by a 1963, p. v, which mentioned that of 62 individual Times website. 14 Galstaun, A. C. (1982). Letter to the editor. Malayan breeders, 31 produced only one hybrid. As they did with Ridley, Joaquim’s pollination by a human. Noting that car- television drama, online articles, in books Orchid Review, 16, pp. 52–53. Singapore: Straits 30 Arditti & Hew, 2005, p. 177. detractors doctored quotations to belittle penter bees did the “greatest amount of and even in scholarly journals. Times Press. (Call no.: RSING 584.15 MOR) 31 Yam, Arditti & Hew, 2004, p. 92.

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