Philippine National Symbols

The National Flower of the Philippine is the Sampaguita (Jasminum Sambac) . Strongly scented, it is sold as leis mostly around curches but also near where the Traffic Lights are located. When the light turns red, kids rush to the stopped vehicles and offer their Sampaguita leis. Many small children earn their school allowance by selling Sampaguita. The Philippines adopted it as its National Flower in 1937 while Indonesia adopted as its national flower (one of two) in1990. A native song refers to it as "Sampaguita ng ating lahi" (Sampaguita of our race) indicating its favored position in the heart of the Filipinos. However, a careful study of its popularity shows that is popular in some places but not in many other places in the Philippines.