Phalaenopsis doweryensis

Here are some pictures I took while visiting a collection and saw Phalaenopsis doweryensis in bloom for the first time. It was a hot and humid day, but being able to see this in person was really quite special.

Nulu Akinabalu (Part I)

At just over 4000 m in height (4095 m/13,435 ft), Gunung Kinabalu is a culturally and biologically significant place on Borneo. 'Kinabalu' is a derivative of Nulu Akinabalu, the name of given by native Kadazan Dusun residents to this mountain. Nulu Akinabalu roughly translates as the 'revered placed for the dead' because the lofty heights of this mountain is thought to be a sacred resting place for their ancestors to the Kadazan Dusun. Further iterations by non-native speakers perhaps shortened this name to Aki Nabalu, and finally to the form 'Kinabalu' in the Malay language as it is known colloquially today.

This is Part I of a series of posts on some of the plants and animals (perhaps a little orchid heavy) encountered on the hike up to the summit of Kinabalu on January, 2017.

To begin, here are two miniature Bulbophyllum species that we saw on the hike.

Bulbophyllum catenarium

Possible Bulbophyllum catenarium clumps high up on the trees? Except, they appear more orange rather than yellow.

And this is probably Bulbophyllum anguliferum in bud; wasn't able to see any in bloom unfortunately..

Moving a Phalaenopsis collection

A lot has happened the past two months. I've taken up a job opportunity that required a move across the country. That really meant a series of decisions to focus the collection a little more and finding some of the phals a new home. Because the core of this collection has been focused on Borneo, I kept most of the species that are endemic or occur in Borneo. In the next few weeks, I'll hopefully have more details on how the collection is doing and some projects that are underway.

In the meantime, here are some photos of some bloomings before they were ripped away from their acclimatized setting to their current not-as-ideal one.

Phalaenopsis San Shia Appendo (Phalaenopsis pulcherrima fma. alba 'Gold Wings' x Phalaenopsis appendiculata fma. alba)

Phalaenopsis bellina

First bloom Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi

Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi is a rather widespread species in South East Asia and is also found on Borneo. This species is generally the easier one to grow among the sister species in this complex but remains a challenge my current home-growing setup. They generally flower gregariously and continuously when given lots of light, warmth and water.

This is the first blooming of a selfing of a line-bred cultivar that has taken many years to acclimate to the growing conditions. The upside is that this flower does have good color, petal size and is very flat compared to the wild species. It's also quite fragrant, which is always a plus when growing Phalaenopsis species!

Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi

Borneophals list updates

I have not updated the borneophals species list in a while because there has not been too much activity. Since the last update, I lost a Phal. maculata and a Phal. pantherina, but managed to reacquired another Phal. pantherina plus a very small seedling of Phal. doweryensis for the collection. Other species that have been acquired are Coelogyne odoardi (endemic to Borneo) and Sarcochilus falcatus (endemic to Australia).

This past month has seen a few nice bloomings including a first bloom from an 'Amami Island' Neofinetia falcata. This plant was left outside for a month in the California "winter", but brought in when temperatures dropped below 35F. It appears that this treatment is enough to induce blooms in the summer which are very fragrant at night. It's a delightful species, and I can definitely understand the current obsession for this species, especially with its long history in Japan.

Neofinetia falcata

Borneo Phalaenopsis species list

Species	Distribution
Phalaenopsis amabilis	Borneo, Indonesia, Australia, Papua New Guinea
Phalaenopsis appendiculata	Borneo, West Malaysia
Phalaenopsis bellina	Endemic to Borneo
Phalaenopsis borneensis	Endemic to Borneo
Phalaenopsis cochlearis	Endemic to Borneo
Phalaenopsis corningiana	Endemic to Borneo
Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi	Borneo, Indonesia, Burma, Thailand
Phalaenopsis deliciosa	Borneo, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Philippines
Phalaenopsis doweryensis	Endemic to Borneo
Phalaenopsis fimbriata	Borneo, Indonesia
Phalaenopsis fuscata	Borneo, West Malaysia, Philippines
Phalaenopsis gigantea	Endemic to Borneo
Phalaenopsis lamelligera	Endemic to Borneo
Phalaenopsis maculata	Endemic to Borneo
Phalaenopsis mariae	Borneo, Philippines
Phalaenopsis modesta	Endemic to Borneo
Phalaenopsis pantherina	Endemic to Borneo
Phalaenopsis rundumensis	Endemic to Borneo
Phalaenopsis sumatrana	Borneo, Indonesia, Burma, Thailand

- Species highlighted green are the ones I currently have in the collection.

Other orchid species from Borneo in the collection

Species	Distribution
Cymbidium ensifolium	Widespread, including Borneo
Coelogyne odoardi	Endemic to Borneo
Dyakia hendersoniana	Endemic to Borneo
Paphiopedilum kolopakingii	Endemic to Borneo
Paphiopedilum lowii	Borneo, West Malaysia, Indonesia
Paphiopedilum rothschildianum	Endemic to Borneo
Paphiopedilum sanderianum	Endemic to Borneo
Paphiopedilum stonei	Endemic to Borneo
Paraphalaenopsis labukensis	Endemic to Borneo
Pteroceras hirsutum	Endemic to Borneo

Other Phalaenopsis species in the collection

Species	Distribution
Phalaenopsis lindenii	Phillipines
Phalaenopsis javanica	Indonesia
Phalaenopsis speciosa	Nicobar Islands
Phalaenopsis stuartuania	Phillipines
Phalaenopsis violacea	West Malaysia

Other orchid species in the collection

Species	Distribution
Bulbophyllum lasiochilum	West Malaysia, Thailand, Burma
Cymbidium goeringii	India, Bhutan, China, Taiwan, Japan
Neofinetia falcata	China, Korea, Japan
Sarcochilus falcatus	Endemic to Australia

Two Phalaenopsis species from section Zebrinae

Two species that have been found on Borneo from section Zebrinae are Phalaenopsis corningiana and Phalaenopsis sumatrana. Of the two, Phalaenopsis corningiana is endemic to Borneo, and has one of the coolest scent that smells like grape soda with hints of cloves, which is quite unique.

This is the second bloom for this Phalaenopsis corningiana, but I have yet to figure out how to grow this species well without stressing it out too much.

The sister species, Phalaenopsis sumatrana, is really quite different. This plant had previously bloomed but it's the first time it has bloomed here. Unlike Phalaenopsis corningiana, Phalaenopsis sumatrana produces an acrid, turpentine-y, burnt-plastic scent. Because the number of bloom it carried produced massive amounts of scents, it became quite uncomfortable to even stay in the room it was blooming in (!), which unfortunately meant I had to prematurely cut the flowers after a few days. These will definitely have to be grown in a separate room in the future.

Two first bloom Phalaenopsis fimbriata

Phalaenopsis fimbriata was discovered in 1921 in Java, and has purported a range from Sumatra to Sarawak (Borneo). As the name suggests, it has a distinct fimbriate lip that looks like a raised fringe with small projections on the edges at the midlobe of the lip. It is quite fragrant but it is not pleasant -- smells like burnt rubber and ammonia to me.

These are siblings from the same cross but have very different shape and forms. The one I've labeled #1 has larger flowers and "flatter" blooms, while #2 has the normal form of this species. 

Phalaenopsis fimbriata #1

Phalaenopsis fimbriata #2