How to Care for your Phalaenopsis Orchid
Phalaenopsis (Blume 1825) is a genus of approximately 60 species of orchid(family Orchidaceae). The generic name originates from the Greek phalaina, "moth" and opsis, "like", descriptive of the inflorescences of some species, which resemble moths in flight. For this reason, the species are sometimes called Moth orchids. They are native throughout southeast Asia from the Himalayan mountains to the islands of Polillo and Palawan of the Philippines and northern Australia. Orchid Island off Taiwan is named after this orchid. Phalaenopsis shows a monopodial growth habit. An erect growing rhizome produces from the top one or two alternate, thick and fleshy, elleptical leaves a year. The older, basal leaves drop off at the same rate. The plant retains in this way four to five leaves. If very healthy, they can have up to ten or more leaves! They have no pseudobulbs. The raceme appears from the stem between the leaves. They bloom in their full glory for several weeks. ...