The National Flower
Eighty years ago, precisely in October, white butterfly became an attribute of the Cuban nation. The Garden of Peace in La Plata, Argentina, summoned the countries of the continent to send their national flower and Cuba decided to establish a commission constituted of Juan Tomas Roig and Don Fernando Ortiz, among others. Four flowers were proposed: Night Beau, San Juan’s lily, Water Hyacinth and White Butterfly.
From Zingiberáceas family (alpináceas), White Butterfly, (Hedychium coronarium Koenig) has about 50 genera and 1,300 species, among the best known are ginger, colony, paradise bird and Alpes’ lily. Originally from the Far East Asia, today inhabits all tropical regions of the world, not only as a decorative plant, but as pharmaceutical and culinary products obtained from them, such as ginger, India’s arrowroot (a sort of edible starch) and turmeric (essential for the preparation of curry). White Butterfly grows to one meter high in soft, wet and somewhat shaded soils. It reproduces by rhizomes (underground stems) and although blooms all year long, its greatest flowering occurs in the rainy season. The exquisite fragrance of its flowers harmonizes with the simplicity of its forms and delicacy of its texture. These characteristics were taken into account during the selection process.
It was also a tradition of Cuban women to adorn their hair, clothes and homes. It also became a symbol of patriotism and rebellion during the independence wars of the nineteenth century, which made it transcend by popular songs and poems. It is said that mambisas women moved hidden messages and planes inside the butterflies. These considerations together with the significance of peace, design of its petals, the sense of unity that express all pressed flowers to the same stem and the image of energy and inexhaustible joy influenced the final decision. Experts also stressed that, although not original from Cuba, it found a perfect habitat here and grows wild throughout the cuban archipelago. Thus, on November 19th, 1936, Cuba showed for the first time its National Flower in the Garden of Peace, Argentina.
