Indonesia Endemic Orchid Flower, Phalaenopsis

Oktober 07, 2019

Indonesia Endemic Orchid Flower, Phalaenopsis

Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Spermatophyta
Sub-Division : Angiospermae
Class :  Monocotyledoneae
Order :   Orchidales
Family : Orchidaceae
Genus : Phalaenopsis
Species : Phalaenopsis amabilis, Phalaenopsis amboinensis, etc.

Phalaenopsis is one of the species from a diverse and widespread family of flowering plants, with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant, commonly known as the orchid family. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering plants. The Orchidaceae have about 28,000 currently accepted species, distributed in about 763 genera. Phalaenopsis is also one of the orchid species that native to India, China, Southeast Asia, New Guinea and Australia with the majority in Indonesia and the Philippines. They live sticking to other plants, but they didn't take anything from the plants, that's why they called ephiphyte. They have a short, upward-growing, stem-like rhizome. Phalaenopsis was named because the shape of their flowers, shaped like a moth. The word is from  Ancient Greek word phalaina (φαλαινα) meaning "a kind of moth with the suffix -opsis meaning "having the appearance of" or "like".

The first stage of the orchid life cycle is pollination. This process is a reproduction cycle, causing the orchid to develop seed pods. The seed pods will take 6 to 8 months to mature. In order to produce flowers, the plant will take energy from its leaves, and this may cause some leaves to turn yellow and fall off. It usually takes about 3 months for a phalaenopsis orchid to flower.

Image result for mature size and age of phalaenopsis'

Seed pods

After it has finished flowering, the orchid will grow a lot of roots, so that it can get the nutrients it needs to start flowering again. The flowers of a phalaenopsis orchid usually bloom for several months, . It can take anywhere from 9 to 14 months for an orchid to complete a life cycle. If it does not die, it can typically re-bloom once every 8 to 12 months.Phalaenopsis are one of the longest blooming orchid genera, producing flowers that last from 2 to 6 months before dropping. This orchid have also been known to bloom 2 to 3 times/ year once they have reached a mature size.

Phalaenopsis orchids do not require too much light to grow well. It grown in a windowswill, an east exposure is the best.
Don't burn the plant by give too much direct sunshine on the plant. This plant is an ideal house plant, because Phalaenopsis
need tempratures that similar to many homes temprature. The ideal for night is 63 to 65 degrees F and daytime temprature is
70 to 80 degrees F. Generally, Phalaenopsis need to be watered about once every 4 to 7 days.

Image result for phalaenopsis life cycle

The lifespan, flowering duration, and re-bloom frequency of phalaenopsis orchids vary from one flower to another. If you want your orchid to be healthy and long-lasting, you have to provide it with the right light conditions and humidity level, and water it once a week.