• Before We Read--

In the Philippines, there are plants which are known for their being sweet scented flowers, leaves and roots. The sampaguita, jasmine.champaca, ilang-ilang, camia rosal (gardenia), and milloguas are known for their strong sweet odors. The dama de noche also has a sweet odor especially in the evening. The leaves of the ,valvarosa (rose geranium), sambong and guava give out odors which are known to cure dizziness or nausea.

What is your favorite flower? Why is it your favorite? Is it sweet-scented? The facts about some of our sweet scented flowers will widen your knowledge about plants and flowers.

Sampaguita

The sampaguita was chosen as the national flower ofour country because ofita popularity, fragrance and the role it plays in the legends and traditions ofthe Filipino people. This shrub was introduced into our country from India.It is Bhort-stemmcd and has glossy, hardy leaves, six to twclve centimr_.terslong. The flowers are gmall, fragrant. pure white and glossy. Theylook like small roses from a distance. This pIant bears plenty of flowers in April, May and June. The sampaguita is often cultivated in our country for commercial and ornamental purposes. Garlands or leis of sampaguita are peddled in the streets of Manila and in some provinces all year round.

The sampaguita is known all over the Philippines. Songs and poems have been written about the small but fragrant flower.

• Dama de noche

Do you know that there are flowers that open after dark and spread their sweet scent only at night? The dama de noche is an example of such flowers. Dama de Noche-is a Spanish name meaning "lady of the night." This flower was given this name because of its evening fragrance.

The dama de noche is a climbing bush with long, drooping branches. Its green, acute leaves are arranged alternately on its long branches. Its small flowers, which grow in a kind of cluster called racemes, are light greenish and very fragrant. A flower of the dama de noche is like a tiny star attached to a lorig, slender funnel ending in a tiny light-greenish calyx.