What is the National Flower of Myanmar?

Recently, on 15 November 2013, Thailand issued National Flowers of ASEAN sheet depicting national flowers of the ASEAN countries.  These are listed below:

1. The Simpor (Dilenia Suffruticosa) of Brunei Darussalam
2. The Rumdul (Mitrella Mesnyl) of Camdodia
3. The Moon Orchard (Phalaenopsis Amabilis) of Indonesia
4. The Dok Champa (Plumeria) of Laos
5. The Five-petaled Bunga Raya (Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis) of Malaysia
6. The Padauk (Pterocarpus Indicus) of Myanmar
7. The Sampaguita Jasmine (Arabian Jasmine) of Philippines
8. The Orchid (Vanda Miss Joaquim) of Singapore
9. The Ratchaphruek (Cassia Fistula Linn) of Thailand and
10. The Lotus of Vietnam.

The Padauk of Myanmar

But, earlier than that, on 15 August 2013, China Post issued a stamp featuring national flowers of China and ASEAN to commemorate CAEXPO (China-ASEAN Expo).  On that stamp, some of you may be wondering where is the Padauk flower and you may assume some yellow flowers could be Padauk.  The Thailand's Ratchaphruek look similar to Padauk, but actually not.

The National Flowers of China and ASEAN

China Post featured "Lxora Chinensis" as National Flower of Myanmar.  The maximum card, produced by China Post, is the best proof of their assumption.  It clearly stated that "Bearing red flowers that bloom in most of the seasons of the year, the Lxora Chinensis, national flower of Myanmar is the symbol of good luck and peace".  The card is pre-stamped, valued 80 Yuan.

The Maxicard

So, what is the true national flower of Myanmar?  Some believe that Padauk and Thazin orchid are the national flowers and some argued that Thazin is the state flower of Rakhine, not the national flower as the whole country. According to my knowledge, there is no official National Flower of Myanmar, declared by States Constitution or any other laws (may notify me if you have some information about this).  The 2008 States Consitution defines the National Anthem, National Emblem, National Flag and Capitol.  The first month of the Burmese traditional lunar calendar starts from April, when Padauk flowers are bloomsom.  The girls and ladies love to put the padauk flowers on their hairbum during the New Year Festival.  And the Padauk are offered to Buddha as well.  That could be the reasons most of the people believe the Padauk to be the national flower.   Traditionally, Burmese defined 12 different flowers as seasonal and festival flowers of Myanmar.

• Tagu (Mar - Apr) ~ Gantgaw, Yinkhat
• Kasone (Apr - May) ~ Sagar
• Nayone (May - Jun) ~ Sabae, Mulay
• Waso (Jun - Jul) ~ Ponenyet
• Wakhaung (Jul - Aug) ~ Kuttar
• Tawthalin (Aug - Sep) ~ Yinmar
• Thadinkyut (Sep - Oct) ~ Kyar
• Tansaungmone (Oct - Nov) ~ Kawae
• Nattaw (Nov - Dec) ~ Thazin
• Pyartho (Dec - Jan) ~ Kwar Nyo
• Dapotwe (Jan - Feb) ~ Pauklel
• Tabaung (Feb - Mar) ~ Ingyin, Tharaphee

But, these are just seasonal flowers and not the national flowers.  To be concluded, this two stamps are contradicting and Myanma Post and Telecommunication needs to have specific policy relating to national identity of Myanmar.  The ministry needs to coordinate with foreign postal authorities to make sure they use the true national identity of Myanmar.

References:

• About Twelve Months of Burmese Calendar by Maung Htin
• https://www.xabusiness.com/china-stamps-2013/2013-18.htm
• http://thailex.asia/THAILEX/THAILEXENG/lexicon/New%20Year%202014%20Postage%20Stamps%20-%20National%20Flowers%20of%2010%20ASEAN%20Countries.htm
• http://www.myanmars.net/myanmar/flowers-myanmar.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_symbols_of_Burma

To reference this article, please cite:

Toe Kyaw Kyar, "What is the National Flower of Myanmar?", The Burma Fantail, Vol. 11, No. 3, Whole Number 41, pp. 37-39, July 2014.

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