Flowers used to decorate the main platform at Double Ten National Day celebrations in Taipei yesterday were all from plants cultivated in Taiwan, the Council of Agriculture said.
One of the featured flowers was a split-leaf philodendron called “Kaohsiung No. 1: Twilight,” which was being displayed publicly for the first time, the council said.
Decorations for the celebration were designed to highlight Taiwan’s rich and varied environments and show that the nation is a habitat for colorful and diversified plants, it said.
Photo: Chen Chia-yi, Taipei Times
Taiwan has so far obtained variety rights — a type of intellectual property right to protect varieties of plants — for 1,484 plants, of which 80 percent are flowers, the council said.
Vanda orchids cultivated in Pingtung County, moth orchids from Tainan, flamingo flowers from Kaohsiung, bromeliads from Changhua County and Oncidium from Taichung were among some of the notable flowers, it said.
Floral arrangements for this year’s Double Ten National Day celebration incorporated the beauty and cultural significance of Taiwan’s ecology, the Taiwan Florists’ Transworld Delivery Association said, adding that it worked with the Council of Agriculture to use an image of Taiwan as the framework of the design.
A stage design team used flowers cultivated in Taiwan to make a 20m-long rostrum, with the layout highlighting the research and creative achievements of the floral industry, the association said.
The team selected flowers and plants from different altitudes, including foliage from the tropical plains, ferns from forests, woody plants from the mountains and hills, and Taiwanese orchids and flamenco flowers, it said.
Association chairman Sun Ming-hong (孫銘鴻) said the floral designs for this year’s celebration were made possible through the council’s support, adding that flowers selected for the decorations were all the latest varieties bred from academic research institutions and agricultural improvement farms.
They include vanda orchids with orange spots, Oncidium, rainbow pink, Nephrolepis cordifolia and soft-thorn euphorbia, he said.
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
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