New addition: Phalaenopsis maculata

I have been holding back on new purchases lately, but this week I gave in, owing to the fact that Oakhill Gardens have had two species that is on the borneophals list below for a while now and I'd be disappointed if they were sold out. One of them is Phal. maculata as the post title suggests, and the other is another Phal. amabilis but of the grandiflora form as opposed to the one that I have now, which is supposedly the 'Sabah' form. I have yet to flower any amabilis in the grow area to confirm it, but I think this species generally sulk before they finally acclimate.

There was a great update from on Phal. rundumensis on the ranwild.org phal grower's website. Click on this link to access the article where they did side by side comparisons between Phal. doweryensis and Phal. rundumensis, which is quite compelling. Here's a screenshot of the images of the two phals. It would be great to initiate a sequencing effort for all the phal species and clarify their relationship between each other.

Borneo Phalaenopsis species list 006

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 rundumensis	Endemic to Borneo
Phalaenopsis sumatrana	Borneo, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand

- Species highlighted green are the ones I currently have.

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.