Indonesia Pope now also as an orchid

Pope Francis (87) is now also immortalized in the world of plants. In honor of the head of around 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, an orchid in the Singapore Botanic Gardens now bears the name Pope Francis (scientific name: Dendrobium Papa Franciscum). The flower, which was specially grown for the pontiff, naturally has a white blossom.

In the Southeast Asian city state, it has been a tradition for more than half a century for important foreign guests to receive an orchid bearing their name: The orchid is the national flower there. Orchids have also been named after Helmut Kohl, Angela Merkel and Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the botanical garden.

We recommend keeping them in a greenhouse at a temperature of 25 to 35 degrees and 75 percent humidity. The flower needs to be watered once a day and fertilizer once a week. In total, there are around 1,000 orchid genera with up to 30,000 species. The Singapore Orchid Garden claims to have the largest collection in the world.

Singapore is the last stop on Francis' longest trip abroad to date. After previous stops in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and East Timor, the Pope will fly back to Rome on Friday.