Kimilsungia

'Kimilsungia'
GenusDendrobium
CultivarDendrobium Clara Bundt gx 'Kimilsungia'
Kimilsungia
Chosŏn'gŭl
김일성화
Hancha
Revised RomanizationGimilseonghwa
McCune–ReischauerKimilsŏnghwa

Kimilsungia is a hybrid orchid cultivar of the genus Dendrobium. It is a clone of a plant that was created in Indonesia by orchid breeder Carl Ludwig C. L. Bundt, who in 1964 registered the grex name Dendrobium Clara Bundt for all orchids of the same ancestry, naming it after his daughter. It has a complex ancestry from cultivated orchids. An attempt was made to register the grex name Dendrobium Kimilsungia, but this is not valid, it is a later synonym of Dendrobium Clara Bundt. As a cultivar name (applying to only part of the grex), the correct name is Dendrobium Clara Bundt 'Kimilsungia'. Another grex name Dendrobium Kimilsung Flower refers to plants of related but different ancestry.[1]

Another flower, the Kimjongilia, is named after Kim Il Sung's son, Kim Jong Il. Neither the Kimilsungia nor the Kimjongilia are the national flower of North Korea. The national flower of the country is the Magnolia sieboldii with white flowers.[2]

According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim Il Sung's "peerless character" is "fully reflected in the immortal flower" which is "blooming everywhere on the five continents".[3]

  1. ^ Soediono, Noes; Arditti, Joseph; Soediono, Rubismo (2011). "Kimilsungia: How an Indonesian Orchid Became a Revered Symbol in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea After Its Name was Changed" (PDF). Plant Science Bulletin. 57 (3). Botanical Society of America: 103–113.
  2. ^ Korea Today. No. 627. September 2008. cover inset. ISSN 0454-4072.
  3. ^ "4th Kimilsungia Show to be held in Pyongyang". Korean Central News Agency. March 21, 2002. Archived from the original on June 7, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2009.