Ask any Filipino what our national flower is and chances are he’ll know it’s the Sampaguita. Ask him to tell you something about it and he’ll probably say it’s fragrant, small and white. Can he think of anything interesting about it? Hmm ... well, we do have a female rock singer named after it!
     The truth is, not many of us give this heavenly-scented blossom much thought. Yet we see it practically every day sold practically everywhere by street children. They are strung into fragrant garlands – often given as offerings on many altars, as tokens of welcome to visitors to our country, are omnipresent in our countless processions, and are often seen dangling from rear view mirrors serving as natural car fresheners. But it is a wonder that despite the fact that it’s all over the place, nobody can really say much about it!

A Sampaguita is a Sampaguita is a Sampaguita
     For one thing, do you know how the rest of the world calls it? Its common English name is Arabian Jasmine, while its botanical name is Jasminum sambac. Sambac is how the Western world often refers to it for short. In our country, it also goes by several aliases ranging from sampagung and kampupot, to kulatai, ponso, lumabi and malur.
     True sampaguita lovers probably know that there are three varieties available, commonly referred to as single petal, double and double-double. If you care to know their fancier names, they are the “Maid of Orleans” with its five-petaled flowers; the “Belle of India” which has double petals; and the “Grand Duke of Tuscany” with flowers that look like miniature roses. Unlike what many of us may have thought, the sampaguita is not a true native of the Philippines. It actually originates from India and it is suspected that it came to our shores as an item of barter or as a gift aboard a trade boat sailing along the South China Sea.

Legends and Lore
    Another surprise about the sampaguita is that it wasn’t a Filipino who proclaimed it our national flower. It was on February 1, 1934 when Governor-General Frank Murphy of the United States named it our national symbol because of its "popularity, ornamental value, fragrance, and the role it plays in the legends and traditions of the Filipino people.”
     What legend, you may ask? Apparently, a maiden named Lakambini had a love named Lakam Galing who went off to battle to defend their land. Before he left, they exchanged the words “Sumpa kita” as a pledge of their undying love for one another. Alas, Lakam Galing didn’t survive that battle and Lakambini died still mourning his death. At her gravesite, there soon sprouted a vine that bore fragrant white flowers echoing her purity and untainted love.
In the modern age, Sampaguita continues to lend its name to new products of the imagination. There is an interactive anime game entitled Sampaguita. Like the flower, the central female character, named Maria Santos, is a sweet, exotic "flower" lost in Japan and her mysterious background must be uncovered. It is an action-romance game that is part of Sony Playstation’s Yudora series.
     Now that you know that our national flower is called Arabian Jasmine, hails from India, has a Japanese game named after it, and that it was declared our symbol by an American, the sampaguita suddenly sounds a lot more colorful than its unassuming white petals, doesn’t it?
     But the surprises aren’t over yet. The sampaguita is actually considered an herb. It is said that the roots were once used to treat wounds and snake bites. The young leaves and flowers were also used to make a putty which was mixed and eaten with rice to dry scabies and other skin eruptions. The Chinese are also said to use it to flavor food, tea and wine. To this day, Arabian Jasmine is used extensively in fragrances in cosmetics.

Simple Care
   The best thing about the sampaguita is that it is so easy to care for – at least, within our shores. In temperate regions of the world, frustrated gardeners can only sigh in resignation as their sambacs wither and die when frost arrives. The sampaguita loves heat, which is why it has fallen in love with our country as much as we have unconsciously embraced it into our culture. It grows best when the soil around it stays moist but not soggy. Enrich the soil with compost every two months, and fertilize every other week.
     One final thing about the sampaguita: each flower actually lasts for less than a day on the plant, lasting anywhere from just 12 to 20 hours, usually reaching its peak a few hours before midnight, but each plant flowers profusely the whole year through. Doesn’t all that make the sampaguita a small yet legendary, fleeting yet profuse, and a most colorful, white and welcome addition to every Filipino garden?

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