PRESIDENT’S CHARM INVADES PLANT KINGDOM WITH NEW BROMELIAD, ‘RODY DUTERTE’
THE INTERNATIONAL BROMELIAD SOCIETY (IBS) has officially recognized the Neoregelia Rody Duterte as the newest Neoregelia hybrid. It is named after President Rodrigo R. Duterte. The IBS is the only international cultivar registration authority for Bromeliads and was appointed by the International Society for Horticultural Science Commission for nomenclature and cultivar registration. To date, there are 5,000 Neoregelia species in the world.
Originating from Davao, the President’s home city, the Neoregelia Rody Duterte, with bromeliad cultivar number 13584, is a product of five years of passionate breeding by local plant breeder Ziegfred “Bebot” Onari.
“The letter [of approval] sent to us on June 30 by the IBS was very timely as it was in time [for] the inauguration of our President,” said Onari’s wife Joan. Onari added, “Three years ago, we asked the permission of Ma’am Elizabeth (Duterte, the President’s former wife) to name the variety after (then) Mayor, now President Rody Duterte as the plant personifies his strong and colorful personality with a heart.”
The new Bromeliad hybrid has pink leaves with fiery pink central cup. When it matures, the open rosette has a diameter of 50 millimeters and is 30 centimeters high with a broad black spine. It has bronze-green leaves with black sepia tips and reddish-brown concentric cross-branding and a heart at its tip. Onari believes that the distinct sepia stripes on its leaves can be associated with the President’s striking and unique persona.
The Neoregelia Rody Duterte has the best characteristics of its seed parent, the Neoregelia Ninja cultivar hybridized by Shiigi in 1979; its pollen parent is Neoregelia Norman Bates by world renowned breeder Chester Skotak, developed in 2003.
The Bromeliads are a family of flowering plants (a relative of the pineapple family) with 5,000 registered cultivar hybrids in its genus. Their attractive and long lasting leaves and flowers give it high ornamental and landscaping value.
Onari said the IBS certification is a big boost to the country’s floriculture industry and inspires them to continue developing endemic and indigenous plants that can be at par with the best