Singapore Names Orchids After Celebrities

Visitors to the VIP section of the National Orchid Garden at the Singapore Botanic Gardens may see Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana and Nelson Mandela.

These notable celebrities will not be at the garden in the flesh of course, but each of them have an orchid named after them as a tribute, according to AsiaOne.

More than 100 celebrities, dignitaries and heads of state have orchids named after them at the garden. The tradition of naming an orchid after an important person began in 1956, when a flower was named after Lady Anne Black, the wife of a former governor of Singapore. Orchids are synonymous with the Asian nation, so officials deemed it appropriate to forge friendships with foreign diplomats this way.

Since 1956, everyone from Ricky Martin to Laura Bush has gotten an orchid names after them. The orchids are all new hybrids that are grown as a part of the National Orchid Garden's breeding program.