Musings on Phalaenopsis amabilis

Believe it or not, Phalaenopsis amabilis was the first Phalaenopsis that I flowered successfully while growing up in Borneo in the 90's. I got a keiki from a neighbour who told me it was something 'wild' and I had no idea what it was until it flowered. This was where the addiction began I suppose..

Described by Linnaeus in 1753 as Epidendrum amabile, it was by no mistake that this was the type species that Blume founded the genus on back in 1825. The list of synonymous species names ascribed to Phalaenopsis amabilis is rather long and reminds one of the sordidness of taxonomical classification. Nonetheless, this species of 'pleasant'/'lovely' phal puts on quite a stunning show, scented or otherwise, and has a special place in this small grow space.

There are many horticultural varieties but the true amabilis is often referred to as diploid open-flowered forms of amabilis from Borneo, at least that's how this Borneo-centric blog likes to think about it. The best reading for an in depth analysis of this species is from the Japanese ranwild.org website.

My Phalaenopsis amabilis 'Sabah' x sib was acquired from Norman's and is adapting very well to the growing conditions. I have a feeling this plant is a line-bred tetraploid version, but we shall see when it flowers. It is currently working on two new roots and will hopefully put on more vegetative growth this summer.

Lights up!

Recently updated to the final version of my envisioned grow area (hopefully). As accounted in my previous entries, I've faced some challenges getting roots to grow on smaller seedlings after transport stress. I think I've finally found a solution after reading about media selection. The small phals are now repotted in 100% NZ sphagnum and under humidity domes 24/7. They look happier and some new leaves are actually emerging. Hope they do the next thing and push out roots. It might also be because I installed T5 lights at the grow area. This is definitely helping some of the higher light phals that are mature so I'm hopeful that this will incite some positive growth for these as well. The added advantage is that the lights allow me to face the phals inwards, increasing the aesthetic factor of their eventual flowering habit and making their care more enjoyable.

Here's a picture of the current set up. Now only if I could automate the watering in the home setting without flooding everything..

New additions

Instead of mourning the death of my N0442 Phal bellina 'Ponkan AM/AOS' x 'Fifi' seedling from Orchidview, I decided to do two things - improve growing conditions by installing T5 grow lights and obtain more orchids (naturally). The surviving Phal bellina seedling I have is a standard form bellina from Oak Hill Gardens but this isn't quite enough after losing the Orchidview seedling. In light of this, I managed to snag var coerulea and var alba bellinas to keep the surviving seedling company. I also have standard form Phal deliciosa, Phal pantherina and Phal cornu-cervi coming my way next week so it'll be a good day when that happens!

These new species additions are now reflected on the list. I've included a list of other orchid species from various genera that are endemic to Borneo that I currently have growing with the phals.

Borneo Phalaenopsis species list 004

Species	Distribution
Phalaenopsis amabilis	Borneo, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Australia
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, Myanmar, 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 sumatrana	Borneo, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand

- Species highlighted green are the ones I currently have.

Other endemic orchid species

Species	Distribution
Paphiopedilum rothschildianum	Endemic to Borneo
Paraphalaenopsis labukensis	Endemic to Borneo

Grow area reorganization

Update on what's been going on with my little grow area. The air conditioner definitely did it's job this past week during the heatwave as temperatures soared over 100F for almost a week, so the phals were safe. Kept the room around 85F in the day and between 50% to 70% RH. Nothing has changed yet for the seedlings in terms of vegetative development. This growing area is by the South facing windows and I've noticed that the roofing is keeping all direct light away from this area this time of the year so I wonder if my light levels are adequate sometimes.

The tiered rack with the smaller plants are on now has a layer of LECA underneath that's kept wet, as you can see here. I keep these phals (and one paph) under a half-cracked dome at night to keep the heat/humidity in.

As for the larger more established plants, they are kept together in a wooden basket by the humidifier that you can see peeking out on the right.

They all get a nice misting in the morning and evening with the fan on. When the air conditioner gets turned on at night, the RH drops dramatically and the humidifier definitely gets a workout when this happens. I'm this close to getting a humidistat to automate this..

Phalaenopsis species endemic to Borneo

It is true that Borneo harbors many endemic orchid species and fortunately, this is no exception for the genus Phalaenopsis. Geographic isolation, being the third largest island in the world and relatively calm climate-wise, Borneo is an excellent place for diversification and the formation of the unique forms as well as the many distinct scents of the various Phalaenopsis species found here. On this work-in-progress list, more than half of the species listed here are considered endemic. This makes Borneo a truly special place for Phalaenopsis.

On a side note, the closely allied genus Paraphalaenopsis has four described species which are all endemic to Borneo. I have recently added Paraphalaenopsis labukensis to my home collection and time will tell if this species will accept conditions outside of a greenhouse.

This image was taken from the wikipedia page on Borneo.

Borneo Phalaenopsis species list 003

Species	Distribution
Phalaenopsis amabilis	Borneo, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Australia
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, Myanmar, 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 sumatrana	Borneo, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand

- Species highlighted green are the ones I currently have.