Lotus is a highly probable choice for Vietnam’s national flower since it satisfies many standards to gain the title: it must grow everywhere, show the character and manners of the nation and is beautiful and durable.

Choosing a national flower has been considered for a long time. The selected flower will be considered as a cultural symbol and be used during holidays, festivals, especially in overseas events. But what id the scientific basis for choosing such a symbol?

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on June 16 organised a workshop entitled “Vietnamese National Flower: The Necessity and Standards”. This is the first workshop of its kind in Vietnam, which introduced 13 standards for the national flower.

The five most important standards consist of: being sourced from Vietnam or grown in Vietnam for a very long time; being adaptable to Vietnamese weather and grown everywhere in the country; blossoming the year round or a long time in a year; showing the culture and traditional, will, manner and aspiration of Vietnamese people; and being beautiful and fragrant.

Many species of flowers have been suggested, such as peach, areca, yellow apricot, rose, bamboo, etc. However, an online survey shows more than 40 percent of voters supported lotus, while yellow apricot gained only 33 percent of votes and peach just over 8 percent.

Source: Vietnam Net